It is true that Paris for me, is a difficult city. It’s more complicated than London to get along in. The language difference certainly makes an impact, but it’s more than that. There is a thoughtfulness for what people will need in London. For example, in one the the tube stations in London there is a sign that says: There are 150 steps to reach the platform. This is equivalent to a 15 story building. We recommend you take the elevator. You’re thinking…okay, so what? This is just a perfect example of little considerations for the people who are not in the know. Also in the London tube, there is ALWAYS staff on hand. Seems obvious right? Well my travel card never worked and I had to have someone let me through every single gate. Contrast this with the Paris metro where there is never anyone working, ever lol. Now the metro is not the difficult to figure out and you rarely need any assistance. But this goes to show how London tries to anticipate the needs of the people and Paris does not.

There is a gentleman in London. Paris on the other hand, is Paris, and she makes no great effort for anyone. You must make the effort. And I’ll admit, it is worth it. Even though it can be a challenge and sometimes frustrating, I believe them when they said Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. Everyone should see it once.

The last night we were in Paris we happened to stroll into the court of the Louvre at sunset.

The fact that my unremarkable mini point and shoot camera (and not my Nikon) was able to capture these images is a testament to how incredibly beautiful it was in real life. The sky slowly faded from a pale blue with traces of peach and pink clouds to a deep indigo. The glass pyramid sparkled in the calm flat water surrounding it. Silhouettes of people and distant monuments mingled together. The palace itself was a impressionist painting come to life. Cello music floated through the air and a perfectly french bicycle rested in a column filled alcove.

If you ever go to Paris, you must see the city at night. I know you will be exhausted. Laying down in your hotel bed at the end of a very long day, you will be loathe to move a muscle. But you must. Drag yourself out the door, into the street, and see Paris as she is meant to be seen. As painters, and poets, and philosophers have seen her. You cannot help but be inspired.

Today I will cover the shopping areas I visited and my impressions on London style. Let me know if you are interested in a second post about the museums and other sights.

Regent St

We walked up Regent St on a Friday. The entire street is lined with old buildings refabed into shops. In the top pic you can see how the buildings curve, which was really cool. Most of the shops were chain stores. A little more variety and more interesting than Oxford St but still lots of standards like H&M. More upper class and designer labels than Oxford though. The streets were very crowded but we were not being jostled around. Most people in London are very polite and automatically alter their course so as to not run into you. This is the complete opposite of Paris, where (mostly woman) flat out refuse to move an inch and will hit a child in the head with their handbag rather than acknowledge that there is anyone else on the sidewalk.

We walked right pass Liberty the first time and had to turn around. It is on a side street, tucked behind you. The store it beautiful but everything in it so expensive. All designer items way out of my league, especially with the conversion.

Anthropologie.

First let me say, I wasn’t able to get a lot of great pics of Anthro. The store is narrow and about 4 levels, so it’s hard to get a good shot. Plus there was lots of people shopping and I thought it would be rude to take their pic. So I just got some quick snaps.

I actually hardly took any photos this trip. My Dh took most of them because I did not want to be tied behind the camera. In retrospect, I wish I would have taken more. It’s hard to find the balance between enjoying the sights fully vs seeing it all through a lens. Another thing about London is it beautiful but not as easily photogenic as Paris. It’s harder to capture London I think. Especially with loads of people around. If you zoom in, you miss the bigger picture but if you take a zoomed out pic all you see is a bunch of heads! Anyway, on to Anthro!

The styling at the London Anthropologie is definitely more parred down than in the states. When I left, the Seattle Anthro was down right kitchy tribal overload but the London outfits were more refined. Still, it’s not a look I saw on the street of London… Not sure who’s wearing it.

A lot of the prices were the same as in the US, except with the conversion twice as much! Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything. I was hoping to see some London exclusives but the only thing I don’t remember seeing state side was the long loose knit sweater below. Do you recall this sweater in stores? Maybe it’s on the way? If I remember correctly it is very long. And gorgeous. I don’t recall the price but I’m sure it was an arm and a leg.

Dh laughed that even London had the “ugly circus couch”

Oxford St

Didn’t really take an pics of Oxford st, sorry about that. Dh took this one of the tube stop lol. As I said earlier, lots of chain stores on Oxford. In fact, tons and I swear some are even repeated, or maybe it just looks like you seen that shop already. I walked through several but didn’t see anything too exciting. I was tempered by the fact that it was quite hot that day and apparently London does not believe in air conditioning. It was hotter in the shops than outside. There was one shop that stuck with me but I can’t find it on any maps! I thought it started with a J….Anyway it had the cutest red skirt and some stripey tops. I was tempted by the skirt but it was 60% polyester and with the conversion probably over $100, so I passed.

Portobello Market

We went to Portobello Market on a Friday because I wanted to see the Vintage clothing stalls. The market was not terribly crowded. I was a little disappointed with it as a whole. There were lots of stalls with misc trinkets. I saw some vintage style watches converted into necklaces that were cute but these, I swear, where the exact same necklaces you can find on Etsy by the truck load. And you can buy the pocket watches from China. Maybe they were actually the originals not Chinese reproductions but I really had my doubts.

Here we are checking out the cashmere stall. Lots of good deals here, starting at 5 pounds but nothing looked like it would fit me. Mostly large sweaters and the ones that were small looked very small and cropped. Also I wasn’t familiar with any of the labels. It looked like most of the sweater were from the same store and I had no idea if it was a good one or some crappy chain retailer.

(PS My skin hated the city and looks atrocious lol! I could not clean the city dirt from my pores, blech.)

Before you get to the Vintage racks there are lots of other clothing stalls. A few things looked cute but I couldn’t help feeling like it was all polyester junk you would find at F21 or modcloth…Once I got to the vintage stalls I looked around more. I was hoping to spot same lace or other nice fabrics. There was some but it was mostly larger sizes. Early on I spotted some “vintage” H&M hanging up and that really soured my mood for doing any digging. If you come with the mind set to dig and are prepared to do alterations, I’m sure the selection would be more enjoyable. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t very authentic.

I also did a little shopping in Covent Garden, visited a couple vintage shops. I think we went on a Monday and it was pretty much empty. May have been more fun to go on Saturday. The shops had some cute stuff but like the used book stores, it is very hit and miss. It’s like playing the lotto, if you play every week you’ll probably win now and again but if you play one time in your whole life, what is the chances of you hitting the jackpot?

I was hoping to see London’s vintage shops put to good use but I didn’t see much vintage style at all. There is a lot more variety of style than in Paris but there is still definitely “the girls in black”. Head to toe black which looks very chic but it’s kind of cheating if you ask me. I saw lots of short skirts with black tights. In fact, I’d say that was the look. Short fitted black skirt or something frillier and Springy with black tights and flat books. Boots were still everywhere even though it was getting too warm for them towards the end of our stay. A lot of the boots were shorties, above the ankle but not mid-calf, and were roomy around the ankle, not fitted. It’s hard to find this type of boot in the states but it was everywhere in London and Paris. I also saw tons of black leggings or black knit pants. I can’t really put my finger on London’s style, like I said there was a variety but the main theme was being put together head to toe. Attention paid to shoes, accessories, tights, etc. In Paris I saw tons of short frilly skirts and layered ruffle skirts, again with black tights and short flat boots, oxfords, or ballet flats. This was mostly on the 20 year olds. I tried to keep my eye out for what adults were wearing but it was harder. No doubt they were at work! I did see one lady at the D’Orsay in a beautiful short printed shift dress worn with black tights.

I ended up wearing most of what I packed. I didn’t feel too colorful in anything. I even wore my sneakers quite a few times later in the week when my feet were getting tired. There was a lot of people in sneakers, Converse, etc. I only wore my trench coat once because it didn’t rain but the trench is ALL over London. Even though, again it was getting warm, every one was loathe to take off their full length khaki, black or grey wool trench coat. Another reason why it was hard to define London style, everyone was covered up with their coat! The population of London is SO varied. It’s very much a city where you can be yourself. So I encourage anyone visiting to wear what you like. Sure you will see tons of French tourist dressed head to toe in black but they are only one of many looks to be found. The city has people and cultures from all over the world and it is not as hard as in Paris to immerse yourself and feel part of the crowd.

I haven’t had time to look through all my pics and put any fashion thoughts down but I did post about the only things I did buy on our trip, books. Lol. Over on my book blog, Aesop to Oz, you can check it out HERE if you have any interest in books, Shakespeare, or the Globe theater.

Hope you all have been well! Let me know if I missed anything!

Start at the Tower of London tube
Visit the Tower of London
Consider seeing the Crown Jewels and Armory first, to avoid crowds. Then go back to the main entrance and take the Yeoman tour.
Walk across Tower Bridge
Stop at The Draft House for £20 3 course beer and food menu (hopefully avail at lunch)
Roll ourselves out of there and walk it off towards Borough Market
Cheese, Bread, Olives, sweets!
Next, Shakespeare’s Globe
visit the gift shop
Just a couple minutes away, Tate Modern
take a peek at what’s on in the main hall (sunflower seeds?)
Walk across the Millennium Bridge for a view of St. Paul

View the Tower of London to Tate Modern map

Possible Eats:
The Drafthouse 206 Tower Bridge Rd; British 4 stars 40+reviews MENU £20 3 course beer/food menu
Tas 20 New globe Walk; Turkish 4 stars 130 reviews MENU Lots of Veggie Meze for £4-5 or 8-10 meze set menus for £9-10pp

The Southwark walk in pictures

Start at Leicester Square Tube
Walk north up Charing Cross Road
check out Used Book shops
Head East on Shaftesbury Ave to Earlham St towards the Seven Dials
check out vintage clothing stores such as

Mint Vintage 20 Earlham
Pop Boutique 6 Monmouth
Rokit Vintage 42 Shelton
Blackout II 51 Endell

Stop at Neals Yard Dairy 17 Short Gardens

Head South down Neal St to the Covent Garden Piazza
Continue south the The Strand
Visit The Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House

Click here to see the Covent Garden to Courtauld Gallery map

Possible Eats:

Masala Zone 48 Floral St; Indian 4 stars 343 reviews MENU £11-£16 pp, less for lunch
Belgo 50 Earlham St; 3.5 stars 771 reviews Belgian beer and mussles (veggie pie for moi) MENU £11-£18 (max steak) Kid eats free with main course purchase

The Covent Garden to Courtauld Gallery walk in pictures