February 18, 1999

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London Travel Journal

Thursday
The plane lands at London's Gatwick Airport thirty minutes ahead of schedule. We purchase tickets for the Gatwick Express, a non-stop train to Victoria Station. At the station, we buy a 7-day Travelcard, for use on the Underground and city buses.

We are on our way to Kensington Street Station via the Underground (commonly referred to as "tube"), the most widely used form of city transportation in London. It was begun in the Victorian era, is easy to use, and a delight to travel. It didn't take us long to learn the routes thanks to crystal-clear sinage. Trains run both beneath and aboveground, and all stations are clearly marked with the London Underground circular symbol. (For those of you who have been, may I remind you to "Mind the Gap!")

Once in Kensington, we set off on foot for the relatively short walk to our hotel. (We know exactly how to get there, thanks to a good map we printed out from their informative website.) The walk up Kensington High and Church streets is delightful so early in the day. As we stroll through this beautiful neighborhood, I catch glimpse of my first English tea room ~ The Kandy Tea Room, a block off Kensington Church Street! It is adorable! I peek through the front window. It is very, very small, accomodating only five tables and a bakery case. The sign overhead reads, "Kandy Tea Room ~ Nice Tea for Nice People." Nice, indeed! Unfortunately, I will not have an opportunity to visit this tea room, but it is definitely on the list for my next trip to London.

At 9am, we arrive at our Bed & Breakfast, The Vicarage Hotel. It is quite lovely ~ so very British ~ with a very welcoming front entrance. Our room is not ready, so we leave our things and head out on the town. We stop at "Patisserie Francaise," a small French bakery on Kensington Church Street, which is where my first actual cup of tea in London is had. The tea arrives in an individual stainless steel teapot. I open the lid for a look, as all real Tea Lovers do. A teabag. Oh, well. The pastries, however, are perfection! It is tempting to sit here all day, sampling one of everything in the bakery case. People are bustling in and out, ordering a croissant to go or a bag of fruit tarts. London is waking up!

After tea and pastries, we ride the tube to Victoria Station and purchase tickets for a "Hop On-Hop Off" bus tour. This proves delightful, and a good way to orientate us not only to the sights but also the sounds of London. Our guide is very funny and informative. He keeps asking us to repeat phrases because he likes hearing our Southern accents!

We "hop off" the bus at 2:30 at Leicester Square, where we queue up at the Society of London Half-Price Theatre Kiosk for tickets to a play later that evening. There is a line, but the wait is only 10 minutes. We want to see Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" tonight, but tickets to that particular play are not on sale. We choose instead, "An Inspector Calls" by J.B. Priestly, playing at the Garrick Theatre. At half-price, the ticket costs £14.5.

We walk down Piccadilly to Fortnum & Mason ("the Queen's grocer," founded in 1707) for afternoon tea, which is served on the fourth floor of this tremendous store. We ride the lift with a very distinguished (and handsome!) English gentleman, who is headed for tea himself. This is one thing I notice and appreciate about London ~ the number of men (alone or otherwise) who stop for a cuppa during the day.

The nicely decorated tea room is crowded with people of many nationalities. A grand piano sits across the room and a man is playing contemporary tunes including, appropriately enough, "Tea For Two!" We are seated at a table, already set for tea, along the wall and place our order. Soon, the tea fare is brought to us on a 3-tier stand ~ sandwiches include cream cheese & chives; smoked salmon; chicken salad; cucumber; and prosciutto. They are very good. Additionally, there are 4 scones on the plate and they, too, are delicious. (I discovered that every tea room seems to have a different concept of the scone. They are quite varied everywhere we go.) These scones are "chunky" and substantial, plain, with no mix-ins. Lemon curd is not offered, but jam and clotted cream are. Desserts include a fruit tartlett; a to-die-for chocolate torte; and two slices of tea bread. My tea selection is Queen Anne, which arrives perfectly brewed. A hot water pot is also brought to the table. The sugar is, as all sugar I see here, Demerara, a natural cane sugar. The tea costs us £16.5 each.

We make it back to the hotel with just time enough to check into our room, change clothes, and head back out again! We tube to the Garrick Theatre via Charing Cross Station. The play is wonderful! A great mystery story enhanced by a superb set. The West End Theatre District of London is quite a colorful area! Lots of interesting characters.
After the play, we tube back to Kensington, and stop in at the local 24-7 store, Crispins, purchasing ham, fresh bread, and cheese, which we enjoy as a late night snack in our room.
I fall asleep about 1am, 33 hours since I last slumbered!