I did make it out by 10:00 and hopped on bus #137 that took me down to Battersea Park. I really wanted to see those bridge posts again. And I thought it would be a nice start to my walk. The forecast was for rain to begin around 1:00.
I walked on Chelsea Bridge Road, over the bridge and past two hospitals, Leister and The Royal Hospital. When I got to Sloane Square, I took a left and went west on King's Road in Chelsea. Somebody at work told me that was a nice shopping street without the fuss of Oxford Street or the pretension of Sloane Street. I walked a five or six block section before crossing the street and heading back on the other side.
The shopping was fun. I found The East boutique store -- they make the clothes that I had really liked in the bigger John Lewis department store. They were having a sale and I bought a dress that I had tried on a few weeks ago that cost 79 pounds at John Lewis and I bought it for 18 at the boutique. Go me.
As I walked along, I saw side streets of very swank houses. There was one street where the brick houses had been painted in pastels. Reminded me of pictures from some Caribbean island. I haven't come across lilac and robin's egg blue houses in London before.
When I reached Sloane Square again, I hooked a left and headed north on Sloane Street. The area to my right, east of the street is Belgravia, an area I seem to know about through romance novels only. I wanted to go into the gardens/park area that are on the east side of the street to look at the statues and sculptures that I had seen from the bus, but no luck, the Cadogan Park is closed to the public. I walked around 3/4 of the perimeter before I saw the sign that said for residents only. So, I was reduced to using my zoom lens. The people in one of the statues seems similar to the waterless fountain statue in Hyde Park.
On the other side of the street, the Danish and Peruvian Embassies stand guard.
Right after the Embassies begin the uber upscale stores that don't bother to open on Sundays when us peons can shop. Only Jimmy Choo and one other were noticeably open, the rest looked closed. It is a good street to window shop -- with the clothes right out of the high fashion magazines. You have to have a size 0 body and be willing to show off quite a bit of skin. The picture of the day for me that I didn't take, was of a woman in a burka looking in a window at a mannequin with a halter dress that was basically two squares of fabric coming off the halter neck tie thing, then two chains at least five inches long, at the center of the two squares supporting the skirt that was long enough to cover the tush, but not much. The chains were beautiful silver loops and left plenty of open space for one to admire the stomach of the mannequin. I'm wondering who could pull of a dress like that? I wonder what the woman in the burka thought?
When I got to Knightsbridge Street, I decided to go west and return to Harrods. When I went with Selim, my browsing was limited. This time I strolled through the whole food court area. The whole caviar bar isn't a big attraction for me, but the counter didn't lack for customers. I enjoyed seeing all the different foods. I picked up a potato, cheese and garlic pie for lunch.
By this time it was past 2:30 and I was hungry. I walked across the street to the nearest bus stop and waited for #74 to come and take me back to Baker Street. There are plenty of major sites that I never got to this trip. But I have been through many areas of the central part of the city (according to my map). I've walked in Chelsea, St. James, South Kensington, Bayswater, Mayfair, Marylebone, Soho, Bloomsbury, Paddington, St. John's Wood, Belgravia, Fitzrovia, Westminster, Hampstead, City, Angel, Highbury, and Islington. I have walked through the parks of St. James, Green, Hyde, Regent's, and Battersea, and the Gardens of Kew and Kensington. I have sat on a a bus and rode through Earl's Court, Kensington, Somers Town, St. Pancras, and Holborn. Except for Battersea, I did not explore the other side of the Thames, so I missed Vauxhall, Lambeth, Kennington, and Newington.
I did not go to all of the museums or see all the palaces. I found my attention span short once I stepped inside. So I have left things for next time -- the Tate, Tate Modern, the Tower of London tour, Kensington Palace (only one room is currently open to the public, the rest are under renovation), Churchill's war room, the inside of Westminster Abbey, a musical or show, a river cruise, and a trip to Paris on the Eurostar. Next time...
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