Onward to the fun purchases in London...a diverse shopping experience that would put any avid shopper into delirium. For me the focus of Rome is for boots... Paris is for hats... London is for books and antiques. Yes, there are antiques in the other cities, but I always find cool eclectic things in London.
Of course we must not divert to food, because that is simply another plane of existence, and a blog post will be dedicated to my culinary indulgences later. However, that is the case for every major place I visit, as food and wine is an important aspect of any travelling. Never cheat your palate.
Anyway, back to my past week's purchases...
There is an artists shoppe on Old Russell Square that I love. Yes, there are a million artist shoppes around the world, but there is a bit of Old World in this one that drives me back almost every visit to London. I indulged in a slightly larger travel watercolour set from Windsor & Newton. I have a field set already, but this one has more paints, mixing trays, and a better travel brush (Cotman III). Not that I necessarily think more paints has more fire power...in fact, I think that too many options is muddling. However, I plan to set up the two holders for different scene types.
A visit to Leicester Square occurred on my very first visit to London almost 15 years ago as well as all my subsequent visits to England if I was staying even a day in London before heading to various parts of the UK. While this is an annoying tourist trap area, it is also the home to several blocks of bookstores. My select choices this time were three lovely books from the 1920's...a touring guidebook for Devon (sentimental purchase of course with my marriage there and most treasured visits being to Devon), a book about lectures in academic settings (printed during the progressive age of adult learning theory...a specific interest to my career), and a very informative book about ship details from ancient to "modern" ships. With my recent investment in the The Six Frigates, Splintering the Wooden Blockage, and Fatal Journey (historic rendition of Henry Hudson), I have a much deeper curiosity of ship language and artifacts. This book is quite a Rosetta stone for me.
Lastly, but certainly not least, my new 1940's purse mirror and make-up case is completely awesome. Notting Hill completely blew away my expectations with my first there today. And yes, I first heard of it when I watch Notting Hill...as it represents several city blocks of outdoor stalls, antique arcades, and single shoppes. Retro and vintage clothes are so much around you that you it's almost fainting worthy. I found this spectacular piece in one of the many vintage clothing spots.
Just a few more notes on Notting Hill; pictures cannot possibly do it justice, but this is just to whet your appetite for a lovely afternoon. However, you cannot possibly go there without stopping at Mimi Fifi if you are a lover of vintage film toys (Matt Sheehe would have to be carried out on a stretcher of bliss). Also, Alice's is chock full of an incredible antique mixture, that can trick you into "investing" in them quite heavily. Just keep your eye out for these two store front shoppes while walking down Portobello Road.
This is just too weird and cool to pass up sharing, especially those sewing people out there. The entire store front is glassed in antique sewing machines (mostly Singers...but several types were represented). While you might think it's a clever display for antique sewing machine sales, it is in fact an even more clever display for a modern clothiers.
