Candy Stripes and Rainbow Dreams: More on London ...

So, after spending some time at Oxford Street and the areas nearby, I decided to pop over to Covent Garden to check out that area ...

While we were there, we decided to look around for a place that served good fish and chips. Afterall, what trip to London would be complete without fish and chips?

And we found this little place: The Rock and Sole Plaice ... which had a rather interesting past ... apparently its basement (where coincidentally we were seated as the upstairs seating was completely full) was used during World War II to hold meetings to decide the priority of food supplies.

Our wonderfully crisp-on-the-outside and tender-on-the-inside calamari .... YUM!

Cornish pastry with chips ...

Cod with chips ...

After lunch, as we exited The Rock and Sole Plaice, I noticed a sign pointing towards the "Seven Dials", which I'd read about in my guide book. This was supposed to an interesting area of charming shops ...

Do you see that black sign that says "Neal's Yard"? Could this be the first ever shop of Neal's Yard Remedies?

Cucumber Alley? Sure sounds Harry Potter like!

Banana Republic and ...

... just check out that beautiful phone booth!

After walking around Covent Garden, we noticed there were signs pointing to Leicester Square, so we figured we may as well try walking there. We needed to pick up some kitschy souvenirs and Leicester Square, being the theater district, was likely to have what we were looking for...

Within minutes, we were in Leicester Square ... and yes, we really did manage to get our little glass cups with "London" all over it :)

Here's a pic of Leicester Square ... I thought it was simply adorable how these wonderfully chubby looking pigeons enjoyed perching on this signpost ...

After getting our souvenir (a pity we didn't have time to catch a musical ... I'd have loved to been able to watch "Wicked"), we took the tube to Knightsbridge ... the home of Harrods ...

The famous Harrods Food Hall ...

At this point, I really need to wax lyrical about the level of service in this London institution. Throughout the entire department store, there were exceedingly polite, knowledgeable and helpful staff appointed at every boutique and corner. They were more than happy to point me in the direction where I wanted to go. I felt like I was treated like the queen! Truly truly excellent service, I must say!

After picking up my new Longchamp* bag (a deep purple in large with long straps, which we couldn't find in Paris), we set off for Portobello Road at Notting Hill Station ...

(Incidentally, we discovered that the cost of the Longchamp bag was about the same in Paris and London. However, the min purchase in a single store in Paris in order to be entitled to the VAT refund was EUR175, whereas in London, it was GBP50, so if making a purchase that exceeded GBP50 but less than EUR175, you'd be better off getting it in London cos you could get a VAT refund of around 10% from that. Just a friendly shopping tip :))

And here we are ... at Notting Hill Gate Station ...

Here's a snapshot outside Notting Hill Gate station ... that little sign points the way to Portobello Market (we were there on a weekday though, so the market wasn't really open ... I think ...) ...

While we were following the signs to Portobello Market, we came across this shop that had a wonderful variety of vintage designer wear! Oh ... if only I had a limitless budget!

Having received such a good impression of Notting Hill by virtue of the above shop, I found this area of London to be utterly charming ... just look at these lovely shops and old buildings. No doubt they didn't have the pomp and grandeur of those on Oxford Street, but still, they had their own charm...

How much more "London" can this get? A red double-decker bus, followed behind by a London Cab! Both outside Victorian looking townhouses...

Finally, we had to depart for the airport ... and this is what we had for dinner ...

Schweppes Ginger Ale ... I had thought that ginger ale especially that bottled by Schweppes would taste the same everywhere in the world, but no, this theory was totally dashed by this excellent ginger ale! Apparently, this is bottled in UK with a slightly stronger ginger taste ... this was GOOD!!!