Earls Court is once again hosting the annual Great British Beer Festival! Spanning the 3rd through 7th of August, the event features 500+ varieties of beer from around the world, along with live music, pub food, games, and tasting tutorials. Tickets are £6 if purchased in advance and £8 at the door.
So get those beer goggles out to better stomach (pun intended…wait for it…) the sight of grown men wearing half-tops to display the fruits of their ale-drinking labors. Me, I can’t wait for my pork scratchings.
While we want you to have fun, London Relocation Ltd. also encourages you to drink responsibly for the health and safety of yourself and others. Cheers!
Folks, I’ve got a plane to catch to Chicago, but wanted to pop in and give any French expats or visitors in London the heads-up that Bastille Day (the French Independence Day on 14 July) is being celebrated in London’s Battersea Park this Sunday, 11 July!
This is going to be one of my more all-over-the-place posts, giving you a glimpse at an average day in the life of a Londoner.
It’s a busy week ahead as I prepare to fly home for Chicago on Friday, and mixed in with my packing are a couple great visitors. Very excited about today in particular, as one of the top Anglophiles is in London this week – Jonathan Thomas of Anglotopia! I’ve given a shout-out to Anglotopia here before (“London Relocation Loves Anglotopia” post) and have the privilege of meeting with Jonathan this afternoon for lunch. In selecting a central meeting place, we’ve opted for Ye Olde Cheschire Cheese off of Fleet Street (yes, the Fleet Street of Demon Barber renown). Rebuilt in 1667 after the Great Fire, it is believed that its cellars date back to a monastery that once stood on the site, dating back to the 13th century. So, in about a half hour I’ll be catching the Central Line at Notting Hill Gate tube station.
I always enjoy an opportunity to venture into the City centre, especially on a gorgeous sunny day like today. It is unreal how warm this UK summer has been so far; unfortunately, the grass is the casualty—I’ve never seen the UK so brown. I’m still hoping to sneak a peek, though, at how the gardens of New Square off of Chancery Lane are holding up, as well as venture off to Sports Direct for a UK sports-related birthday present for my nephew—they usually have stellar sales and am hoping now that England is out of the World Cup that one good outcome is slashed prices on football paraphrenalia And what a lovely thing ’tis that I can run such simple errands with St. Paul’s Cathedral as my backdrop, which is an aspect of London that makes the everyday extraordinary. The spouse works around there, too, so perhaps I’ll catch him for a smooch before having to return home for…
…the Virgin Media guy. When you move to London and set up your utilities, a few options you have for TV/phone/internet packages are Virgin, British Telecom (BT), Onetel, and Sky. Londonistas from our London Living network have been asking me lately about this, and I’ve related to them that, while we might have opted for Sky for its movie channels, it required a landline, which we don’t have. Virgin Media, then, has been the provider of choice, and we’ve been so far satisfied with their broadband and cable (complete with On-Demand movies and television shows as well as DVR functionality to record and stop/rewind/fast-forward live TV); the only issue we’re encountering now is the not-so-”Smart Card” we recently received in the mail and had to swap into our box…alas. Not the best timing with the World Cup and Wimbledon underway, is it.
*sigh* After that, I’m sheh-juled to meet with another friend in town with his family. Today, they’re off on the Stonehenge/Bath bus day-tour, so their return should perfectly coordinate with my 4-7pm cable-guy window. As they’re staying in Earls Court, there are a myriad of restaurant options to choose from for dinner, be it a low-key pub like the Blackbird, a gastropub like the Pembroke, or my cafe fave, the Troubadour, not to mention a range of Italian, Thai, Indian, Greek and other cultural cuisine.
Oh, all the wonderful ways in London to procrastinate from packing…All right then, all this being said, I’ve gotsta’ go!
Stemming off of a previous circuit I recommended (the “Kensington Gardens Gallivant“), we’ll be heading West of South Kensington today for a nice neighborhoody stroll that won’t bog us down with too many big attractions. Instead, we’ll pass by and through points of interests and just soak up the atmosphere of a nice London neighborhood on a hopefully nice day outside.
If you’re in the vicinity of South Kensington station, start heading west on Brompton Road and stay on it as it becomes Old Brompton Road. You’ll pass by a string of shops and restaurants that you can pop into to your heart’s content. One cute one along the way is Bumpkin, which would make for a nice brunch stop. My husband also likes to ogle the Ferrari dealership further down on the left-hand side. If you’re more keen on a pub breakfast or lunch, two great options just across the street from each other are the Duke of Clarence (for higher grade gastropub fare) or the Drayton Arms (your more laidback variety with classic pub grub and a great English breakfast). Otherwise, around this same intersection you’ll see a variety of ethnic cuisines like Indian and Vietnamese.
Keeping on Old Brompton, on your left you’ll eventually see a long brick wall with a blue plaque signifying it as the site of the former home of Beatrix Potter, author of the treasured Peter Rabbit books. A primary school now stands on the site, but you can take a stroll around this neighborhood, called The Boltons, to get a taste for the affluent residences that have stood there since Beatrix’s time.
As you approach the intersection with Earls Court Road, to your left is the building where Lady Diana lived when she was courting Prince Charles, Colherne Court. Turning right onto Earls Court Road here will take you along a corridor highly populated with cafes and pubs, as well as Earls Court tube station if you’re needing to catch the District or Piccadilly lines.
Otherwise, if you’re a film buff, if you stay on Old Brompton, walk past Earls Court Road and turn left at the next street, 64 Colherne Road is the site of the famous metamorphosis scene in the cult-classic An American Werewolf in London—it’s Nurse Alex’s flat! The scene of a more recent film, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, is just a block further West on Old Brompton Road at the Brompton Cemetery. This graveyard is one of the Magnificent Seven located all over London that came into being during the Victorian era to solve the issue of overcrowding in individual churchyards. Almost 40 acres in size, it makes for an atmospheric and peaceful walk and/or sit, and is free, as opposed to its Highgate sister from yesterday’s London Bundle.
Across the street from the cemetery, you can’t help but notice the enormous Earls Court convention center that houses major fairs like the London Book Fair and Great British Beer Festival, as well as the prestigious music award show, the BRIT Awards. And, actually, if you’re willing to back-track a bit, on Old Brompton Road just between Colherne Road and the cemetery is a great coffee shop/restaurant named The Troubadour. Established in the 1950s, its music venue downstairs has hosted performances by legends like Bob Dylan (it was the first place he ever performed in London, in fact), Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, and Joni Mitchell.
With all this celebrity exposure, you could continue the trend by staying on Old Brompton (which turns into Lillie Road eventually) and hang a left on Fulham Road to catch a flick at the Fulham Broadway Cinema. This positions you perfectly if you’re looking for dinner—there is plenty to choose from within the mall at the cinema or outside in the general Fulham Broadway area (a favorite of mine is Hell Pizza)—or ready to head back to the comforts of the fabulous London flat where London Relocation Ltd. has placed you after your move to London …this being because the cinema is located directly above the Fulham Broadway tube station. Ta da!
Now you can feel like you’re in the stands at the World Cup in South Africa from the comforts of your home or office Internet-browsing Evidently, there’s an iPhone app as well that will turn your mobile into a vuvuzela horn. But, of course, isn’t there an iPhone app for everything…
At any rate, if you’re able to skip out of work early on this fine, albeit chillier Friday afternoon, the U.S.A. vs. Slovenia match will be kicking off at 3:00pm GMT. Germany vs. Serbia will be underway in an hour, and England will face-off against Algeria this evening at 7:30pm GMT.
I, for one, am lucky enough to be able to skip out of work in time for the U.S. match. My American friend has rented space at the Duke of Wellington pub on Notting Hill’s Portobello Road, and I’m hoping for a more mild atmosphere than last Saturday’s U.S. vs. England match…oi, was that obnoxiousness incarnate. First of all, not to overly diss a certain establishment on the Kings Road in Chelsea, but despite its phenomenal beer garden space out back that I do indeed enjoy, its interior is very American bar-and-grill. I do not mean to likewise diss American bar-and-grills in that same sentence—I’m a Yankee and proud of it!—but it’s not exactly furthering one’s international experience by frequenting it. And when you combine that atmosphere with a match of those competitive proportions, it raises it to American Frat Boy level, a Code Red that sends this former sorority girl running for the hills. But it wasn’t just Americans…this was truly an event that united world citizens in pissy attitudes that was just not a climate I enjoyed. But that’s just me. I’m not a hardcore sports fan, and football is no exception, so perhaps I should reserve judgment; I just don’t particularly like when taking jabs that should be all in good fun loses perspective and turns into actual ethnocentric antagonism. I don’t perceive the athletic ability of several men running on the field to actually represent an entire country anyway.
So there’s my editorializing because it’s Friday and I’m tired, and when I’m tired, I’m ornary and sometimes knock what I don’t truly understand Hopefully this afternoon after a cool pint I’ll be able to embrace the more positive spirit of global community that does surround this game on its colossal scale and finally comprehend what all the buzz (and horn-blowing) is all about.
Last night I attended a charity event at Notting Hill’s Tabernacle. A friend had invited me since she’d received tickets from one of the opening performers (http://www.lucamusic.co.uk/), and, really, all I’d been looking forward to was the chance to catch up with good friends and enjoy some live music with my cocktails. When I finally started to wrap my brain around what the event was actually for, I felt a rush of optimism and goodwill for what this charity organization is seeking to accomplish.
In operation since 1996, Honeypot has been returning the joys of childhood to children who have otherwise had to grow up too quickly out of neglect and/or having to assume adult responsibilities around the household, such as when parents suffer from physical/mental illness or substance abuse. From their website:
“They have no time to just be children. When not at school they might be cooking, washing, cleaning, changing dressings, bathing, or offering emotional support. This leaves little time for their own social and personal development, putting them at high risk of depression, anxiety, poor mental or physical health, social problems, isolation, bullying and absence from school.”
After a referral and home visit, Honeypot arranges to transport up to twelve children at a time, whisking them away on their minibus to Honeypot House, located on seven acres just outside New Forest:
“Activities such as riding a bike, learning to swim, paddling at the beach, painting a picture, or simply playing freely in the fresh air without the need to worry are often experienced for the first time by the children who visit us.”
To learn more about how you can contribute to such a worthwhile mission through volunteering or donations, please visit the Honeypot website at http://www.honeypot.co.uk/.
My husband and I were married two years ago today on a brilliantly sunny and warm Chicago day…and three months later, we moved to London. That summer was a transition-and-a-half with all its life changes, but now that we’ve weathered the worst of the relocation storm, we look back on our first two years of marriage here in London as an extended honeymoon.
Last year, we made our own pilgrimage to Canterbury, England (yes, as in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales) to celebrate our one-year. This year, the weekend didn’t work so well for heading out of town, so we counted our earlier Devon/Cotswolds weekend as our main celebration. Yesterday, however, we decided to compensate for having a Monday workday anniversary by stepping out for Sunday tea at Claridge’s right here in London. A 5-star hotel in London’s posh Mayfair area, Claridge’s offers a decadent and essentially all-you-can eat Afternoon Tea within its opulent setting—we opted for the champagne tea so we could sip this golden, effervescent beverage as its bubbles tickled our noses before indulging in the assortment of finger sandwiches (salmon, cucumber, egg, turkey, and ham), scones (with clotted cream and jam), and rich sample of desserts. Lest I forget the tea…Claridge’s offers over 30 varieties of teas from around the world, including its own special blend, which they will send home with you in a little black tin as a memento of your exquisite experience there.
I found this means of celebrating to be especially meaningful, as the hotel’s atmosphere was so reminiscent of the Drake Hotel in Chicago, the location of our bridal suite as well as afternoon luncheon to tide our wedding guests over between our morning ceremony and evening reception. The Drake likewise hosts elegant tea parties, set to live instrumental music just as you’ll find at Claridge’s.
From there, we decided to hotel-hop as long as we were all dolled up, so we made our way to the nearby Dorchester, another 5-star hotel that offers an afternoon tea and assortment of restaurants and bars. A bit overly caffeinated for a Sunday night, we decided to counteract that stimulant with a couple smooth cocktails shaken, not stirred, in The Bar at the Dorchester. The Bar offers a low-lit ambiance and classic range of martinis of a calibre not encountered enough—sorry, chicks, you won’t find any Appletinis or Flirtinis here (thank God). Instead, you’ll drink like 007 does (try the Vesper or Gold Finger if you don’t believe me). It had been a while since I’d had a martini, and, man, was this the place to be reunited with it—they are utterly silky thanks to The Dorchester’s masters of alchemy.
As we sat at our barstools, we asked ourselves, “Why don’t we do this more often?” That’s why I’m sharing the experience with you now—if ever you’re looking for an alternative to the pubs and an excuse to get dressed up, make a day and/or night of it in Mayfair’s hotels. You don’t have to have a room there to still enjoy their elegance and quality fare.
Moving to London entails schlepping a lot of the worldly goods you already have over the ocean, yet it often also means leaving a lot of your stuff behind. The availability of furnished flats in London makes it more desirable to leave your own furnishings at home, whether you sell them, loan them, or put them in storage. Moving it all can be expensive, not to mention just a pain if it’s not a long-term relocation, and if you’re in the situation that my husband and I were when we moved (i.e., not having a flat lined up in advance, so just living out of a hotel until you find one), you simply don’t know what sort of space you’ll end up with to determine what will/won’t fit or to what extent you’ll be able to decorate, etc. Even if you’re able to rent a place with the major furnishings, you will find that there’s always something else that you need, be it a piece of furniture, home decor, pots/pans, and especially appliances. (Read my previous blog post on how differences in voltage will impact what appliances you can or can’t bring from home.)
Right, then. So if you’re daunted by how much shopping you’re going to have to do and how to get it all home if you won’t have a car here and don’t want to pay the hefty cab fare, here’s a heads-up on Westfield shopping center in Shepherd’s Bush, London:
- Shop hands-free: Westfield’s concierge service will arrange to pick up your bags when you make purchases and have them ready for you to collect at the end of your shopping excursion. This means you’ll be able to walk the mall freely without lugging everything around. This service costs only £7.50! As it is a popular option, try to arrange for this during off-peak times.
- Home delivery: Like most expats, you probably won’t have a car. You could hire a taxi, mini-cab, or Zip Car rather than haul everything on public transportation, OR you could simply cough up a few extra £ for home delivery service. Rates may vary depending on where you are shipping to, but one of our clients just used the service yesterday for only £17 for delivery to Maida Vale.
You can get to the shopping center via Tube by taking the Central Line to the Shepherd’s Bush station. Overground rail service also runs there in addition to a plethora of bus lines. Sound good? Then get out there and get your consumer thang on!
This one’s for the ladies. While my last bundle will bring you by an assortment of darling boutiques to enhance your wardrobe and accessories, if you want to get really hardcore, follow me…
Today we start at Oxford Circus Tube station, not to be confused with its far more obnoxious neighbor, Piccadilly Circus,
Photo: David Rose
although you could as easily start from there if you please and make your way to Oxford Circus via Regent Street; I won’t stop ya. Beginning at Oxford Circus, though, presents you with the immediate option of initiating your shopping extravaganza on eitherOxford or Regent Streets (SO fun to visit during Christmastime when they close the streets to traffic for holiday shopping!). I personally like to go South on Regent Street, down to the 250-year-old Hamleys of London toy store (go on, pop in and play! And if you want grown-up toys, it’s near the Apple Store); from here, you can keep wandering down into the Piccadilly Circus tourist trap.
Or, if it’s starting to look too Magnicifent Mile or 5th Avenue and you want some old London atmosphere, cut off of the high street at Great Marlborough Street to the left and immediately see the Tudor-style Liberty department store. To the left of Liberty, you can then enter Carnaby Street. You’ll think you’re in the quaint little Epcot World Showcase for England or Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley when you wander into this intimate network of streets offering an array of shops and restaurants.
From here, we’re on to Knightsbridge! I leave it entirely up to you how you choose to get there–you can cut over to Hyde Park’s Northeast corner from Oxford Street (Marble Arch area)—you’ll pass Selfridges department store on the way—and enjoy a relaxed walk through the greenery until you reach its South end at Hyde Park Corner. Or, if you do follow Regent Street down to Piccadilly Circus, you can follow Piccadilly Westward to Hyde Park Corner and ultimately onto Knightsbridge (check out the Ritz on the way). OR, you can zigzag through the posh Mayfair streets that contain some of London’s most expensive properties and fine dining (might I recommend Gordon Ramsey’s Maze off Grosvenor Square—across from the U.S. Embassy—for contemporary ambiance and small but flavor-packed portions or The Guinnea, a historical pub that serves high quality steaks in its rear restaurant—Guy Ritchie’s Punch Bowl is nearby there as well if you’re thirsty). If you’re game to window-shop for cars, you’ll find Aston Martin, Lamborghini, and Porsche dealerships in the area to gawk at.
However you get there, once you hit Knightsbridge, just walk on along for more high street shopping, drinking, and dining…all three of which activities you can do right inside the infamous Harrods, level upon level of garish opulence and high prices, well worth a look even if you are, in fact, only looking versus buying. Walking further West along this road (or cutting Southwest onto Brompton Road) will ultimately bring you into South Kensington, the vicinity of my Kensington Gardens Gallivant bundle, if that helps you get your bearings.
Today is the first of my London Bundles that ventures out into the neighborhoods outside the City, yet still considered fairly “central London” (i.e., Zone 1).
Let’s start our journey at South Kensington Tube station (which services the District, Circle, and Piccadilly lines). As soon as you ascend the Underground station’s steps into the light, you’ll find yourself at quite the center of action. Surrounding the station are endless choices of restaurants and shops, so you can dip into a cafe here if you didn’t grab breakfast at your hotel or flat (you know, the perfect abode where London Relocation Ltd. just successfully placed you). Might I recommend the darling Cafe Creperie just Northwest of the station and along the way to where your area tour will continue (make sure you bring cash, though, for those crepes…last time I was there, they didn’t accept credit or debit).
Continuing North on Exhibition Road, you will soon enough see the Victoria & Albert Museum to your right and the Natural History Museum to your left—take your pick (I am, however, partial to the V&A for its artifacts, artwork, and antique furnishings and textiles on exhibit, as well as the special Grace Kelly exhibition currently on display!) Best part of either museum is that they’re FREE.
All right then, mosey onward further North on Exhibition Road, past Imperial College, and hang a left at Kensington Road. You will see that Kensington Gardens is just across the street. You can enter the park if you stay on Exhibition Road, but by walking along Kensington Road, you can go past the famous Royal Albert Hall (the acoustically brilliant concert that hosts the annual Proms) and see the exotic Albert Memorial (that Queen Victoria commissioned in honor of her dearly departed husband in 1875) just across the way inside the park. Once you reach the Southwest corner of the park, enter onto a walkway that will lead you directly to Kensington Palace, where Queen Victoria was born and pronounced Queen and where Lady Diana lived the rest of her years (if you recall the footage of the masses of bouquets mourners piled up outside palace gates, this is the place where those vigils took place). The palace recently kicked off its Enchanted Palace exhibit to offer a bit of avant-garde eye candy while the building undergoes extensive renovation. Venturing inside does come at a price, but just touring the grounds for free is worthwhile—the blooms decking out the Sunken Garden and swans preening on the Round Pond being visual delights.
Enjoy a pleasant stroll on the main walkway (The Broad Walk) between the pond and palace as you continue North and exit outside the Northwest corner of the park. The main road you encounter here is just where Bayswater Road becomes Notting Hill Gate, so hang a left and continue into the well-known neighborhood. Just past the Tube station, you can jog over onto Pembridge Road for a couple blocks until you see the entrance to Portobello Road. Wandering the length of this road will take you past the antique, clothing, and produce stalls that give this area its character (and, yes, you’ll see sites from the movie, including the storefront of the travel bookshop in the film as well as the original shop on which it was based):
Notting Hill is an ideal neighborhood in which to close out your day, with no end to the pubs, cafes, and restaurants to grab your late lunch or dinner, or cinemas to enjoy some seated, passive time to yourself (try the Electric on Portobello for an ultra-cozy recliner as a seat or the Coronet on Notting Hill Gate for its history). From here, you can catch the Tube at the Notting Hill Gate station (District, Circle, and Central lines), or, first, pop down onto Kensington Church Street for more dinner options, including the Churchill Arms pub if you’re thirsty. Cheers!
And what a lovely thing ’tis that I can run such simple errands with 
Hopefully this afternoon after a cool pint I’ll be able to embrace the more positive spirit of global community that does surround this game on its colossal scale and finally comprehend what all the buzz (and horn-blowing) is all about.
