An English Honeymoon: Day IV, Part II

After our morning of shopping at Oxford Street and lounging at the cafe, we went back to our hotel and napped with the Kensington breeze coming in through the open windows, the rooftops outside bare and empty, the occasional bird landing, clouds gauzy and light in the blue open sky. We woke up refreshed much later, got dressed again, and walked towards Portobello Road. Our destination: the movie theater Electric Cinema. We passed fancy shops and boutiques, coffee shops and delis... and finally we turned onto Portobello Road.

Everything had a time warpy feel to it. The stores seemed to come from all eras from the '50s to present day. There were lots of folks smoking and hanging out outside as the stores closed.

The only movie showing that night, much to Dan's delight, was Avengers: End Game, which we had already seen in the theaters back home in the States. Though it wasn't my first choice of movie, I didn't mind seeing it again, especially as Electric Cinema seemed so awesome from what I'd read about it. And it was!

But first, before the theater opened, we had to get some dinner. The Electric Cinema Restaurant is located right next to the theater - the restaurant is actually part of the same building - and it is renowned for it's amazing food. It's a '50s style diner, American style, but dim and English-y. It kind of looks like a fallout shelter. There weren't too many people in there, some guys hanging out at the bar, some groups in the booths, the open grill flickering with oil and steam and fire. We got cozy and got our drinks and food (gin for me, beer for Dan) and as an appetizer: TRUFFLED DEVILED EGGS. We splurged. But it was worth it.

Afterwards, we sat and chatted (again, no one was rushing us out to leave) and then headed to the theater part of the building. We gasped and laughed with excitement. It was the nicest movie theater we had ever been in, the most comfortable, and even offered cozy blankets from inside the footstool (as Michael Caine's voice informed us over the speakers). We replenished our beverages and settled in to view the movie. 

It had this Victorian - '20s style vibe I enjoyed... as well as the enormous armchairs, side tables, and lamps. It was cool to hear Brits laughing at cheesy American jokes. When we left, around 1 am, the moon was bright as we followed our previous path back towards our hotel. The moon shone above us, there was no one in the streets, the lampposts each shed their electricity on the empty sidewalks as we walked along. Then briefly, we heard a group of people singing from an upstairs apartment somewhere. They were really happy and cheerful and loud, and that energy passed on right to us as we began to plan the next day. 

- F