The Kings Road was a 'must do' destination in my past, a place that we considered in our youth the only place to be and most certainly the only place to buy one's attire. I still love the Kings Road, though my penchant for it's kind of fashion has diminished a little and my ability to pay the price has become somewhat inhibited.....did I really pay so much for a pair of jeans in my hey-day?
(Click to enlarge images)
SW3
The journey in was uneventful, the weather again was treating us to temperatures reminiscent of summer and we sat 'people watching' clutching pain au chocolat and good coffee in the sun courtesy of the first pavement cafe we found. There is still no ignoring the fact that this is Chelsea, some things never change and the Kings Road being a favorite with 30 something's blessed with economic wealth is one of them. It would only be a blind man who did not notice the multitudes of Gucci, Louis Vuitton, diamonds and designer this and that adorning a larger than average proportion of the population. Maserati and Ferrari seem to be the transport of choice and coffee and pastries for four will still set you back almost as much as dinner in a less affluent or trendy area....... You just gotta love it!
Kings Road
We wandered aimlessly among the shops and the day to day throng, this may be an expensive place to be but it has a certain laid back ambiance that I think has probably always been one of it's attractions. We marveled at the beautiful tree lined residential streets jutting off the main street at intervals and did the 'what would I give to live here' conversation that always occurs accompanies these places for me. I may love our little patch of Scotland and the countryside but just ask me if I would swap.....absolutely no contest! Unfortunately I am short of a few million GBP.
I wanna live here!
Lunch time-ish and we headed for Camden. I hate buses but London buses are different, they of course have an upstairs, the child in me still has to attempt to procure the upper front seat and it is never boring with so much to see,unlike the tube which affords one a view of almost nothing in many parts. So a bus it was, first to Tottenham Court Road and a bite to eat, nothing exciting here, we were too hungry and fell into a McDonald's opposite the Dominion Theatre and then back onto another bus and to Camden.
Camden Lock.
Camden Market.
Camden is very a very different place to Chelsea, it boasts four markets all selling antique or 'alternative clothing' and of late has become a must for those preferring a slightly unusual lifestyle. The shops, boutiques and markets are something else and are inhabited by fascinating individuals living life their way. One can buy here almost anything from a bottle of milk to magic mushrooms and piercing and tattooing are available in abundance. The atmosphere is good, laid back and at the same time upbeat, anything goes and the place has a kind of freedom not found elsewhere easily.
Retail therapy ~ Camden style.
Mushrooms anyone?
As the sun went down we headed home again, another bus trip to Baker Street and the tube from there. London they say is a stressful place, busy, loud, fast..... but for me it is a magical place, a place like no other, it's atmospheres are many, it's attraction and beauty unending......sometimes, just sometimes, I miss it like hell.
And that's it, Friday we packed, went for one last cappuccino at a local place, we sat outside in the sun of course and then hit the motorway homeward. We stopped for a few hours in the Midlands to visit my sister and her family. My nieces required that I spend two hours on scooters and roller blades with them......don't ask if my legs still hurt.......and then it was truly home bound. A journey of stamina, the temptation to stay 'just a little bit longer' won, well we see little enough of them, one has to make the most of the opportunity but the downside of course was the 300 miles ahead of us, already tired and at the dead of night. We made it, we stopped often, drank copious amounts of coffee and fell into bed, with cat's happy to be home, in tow!
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