An English Honeymoon: Day IV, Part I

We woke to another glorious day, sun bright, weather warm, had our English Breakfast tea and cookies left by room service. Took long, hot showers and dressed. Today was the day for some shopping (for me) and today was the day for Oxford Street. 

We went to a bunch of places. Everything was way above our budget and we ended up at Selfridges, which was mostly way out of our budget too, but I found some really comfy Clark's boots in the basement. I got some little presents for family back in Chicago. I loved the boutiques and little flower shops, everything looked very contemporary and slick, not stuck in some late '80s - '90s time warp, which was more mood elevating than anything else, along with the endorphins already buzzing from buying stuff. When we left Selfridges I found a Zara (I love Zara) and bought a beautiful camel colored trench. 

"Are you done now? You get your fix?" Dan asked afterwards. "Yeah, I think so" I replied. We looked for new sneakers for him, but all the men's shoes were ridiculously priced. I even saw a real Louis Vuitton shop and felt some of the clothing. It was heaven. But we left empty-handed of course. We kept walking along Oxford Street until we found this really pretty restaurant/outdoor cafe called Cafe Concerto. We sat outside with some cigarettes, got a bite to eat and some drinks. I ordered a beet root and ginger latte, which the waitress actually tried to convince me not to get, but I did anyway. And I did not regret it. It was so freaking good and gave me a boost. I'm always happy when I do something right out of my own volition. 

We sat there for a while. What we kept noticing during our trip was the really relaxed time everyone had, or seemed to have. We never felt rushed out of anywhere, especially at the places where we ate and/or drank something. We could've sat there for a few hours without being bothered. Cafe Concerto was such a relaxing time. We smoked (just a little) and ate and drank, watched all the people (I was keeping an eye out for clothing/fashion), talked and talked, and listened. There were a lot of French speakers and French accents and of course British accents too, and we luxuriated in the sound. I noticed that we, too, began to speak softer, less harsh, less demanding, more serious, less playful. It was nice. Writing now makes me miss it ever so slightly.

As the world and its inhabitants whirled and walked past us, we sat still and made plans. We'd go back to Kensington, take a nap, wake up, and head over to Portobello Road... Portobello Road... have you ever seen Bedknobs and Broomsticks (the movie)? Haha. 

To be continued...

- F