Our London visit

Classic London Scene, near Covet Gardens.

For people who know me, they know I am an anglophile.  I love Jane Austen.  I love Jane Austen-inspired movies.  I love the old English manors, the English gardens, and the charming accent.  But I love London the most.  It's an efficient, clean, old, lively city. I love the Tube, the Museums, the string of parks.  I had not visited London since 2002, so I was eager to see it again and ensure I was not romanticizing it.  I can say: I was not disappointed.

Where we stayed:  Near Russell Square on the first leg at the Harlingford Hotel.  Situated on a quiet square, it was clean and in the heart of the university district.  I remember a fine breakfast of eggs and smoked salmon, too.

When we swept through the city on the way back home, we picked a different section of London (we do try to do that when we have to stay in a city twice).  Because it was just one night, we went a bit more upscale, choosing the The Beaufort Hotel  in Knightsbridge, steps away from Harrod's and an easy walk to the V&A Museum.  This hotel was soft and sumptuous, tucked away on a dead-end street--stylish London was at our fingertips, but I didn't hear it!

The lovely sunken gardens at Kensington Palace.

Where we ate:  Being foodies, traveling for me is always about exploring the local restaurant scene.  The first night, I wanted to try the Spanish tapas place Saltyard on Goodge Street, but alas, we didn't make a reservation and they were booked.  We found a great little Greek Taverna close buy and satiated our tapas craving with Greek mezzes.  Because this was part nostalgia, we had to go to Sofra Mayfair--this little Turkish place has been part of my London eating trips since the beginning.  It's cozy and tucked away--oh and the food is fabulous.  On our final night, we walked all the way to Notting Hill to take in a final Indian meal at Malabar.  We feasted on chutneys and chaat--oh how I love Indian food!

What we did:  I'm going to do a whole post about our daytrips to Bath and Richmond/The Kew Gardens, but in London proper, we did our typical wanderings--exploring Covet Gardens, Goodge Street, Soho/Chinatown (where we had the most disappointing Chinese meal--ever!) and the University districts.  Kevin had not been to the British Museum so of course we went there.  We both had not seen the Victoria & Albert Museum so we took that one in, too.  Both museums have world-class collections.  I love how the British Museum is topical-- a room full of currencies, followed by a room full of clocks, followed by a room full of mummies!  We took in several parks and visited my favorite garden: the http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/sunkengardens.aspx on the final night.  A fitting way to wrap up the trip!