London/Edinburgh trip report!!! ( Very very LONG)
Poliwhyrl
to Edinburgh. It was my second visit to
London and my first to Edinburgh. The weather was astounding - a little
warmer than I expected, and it did not
rain ONCE in London (it drizzled for about two minutes when I was in
Edinburgh, and that was it). As I prefer
cool and misty weather and don't mind the rain, this was a little bit of a
disappointment ;) - but who am I to complain!
After the first few days I just stopped carrying my umbrella. It was a bit
more crowded than during my last visit (which was during a late September)
because kids there have off for Easter and their parents take them out.
Rather than go day-by-day (like I did when I posted my trip report after my
last visit, I'll just divide it up topically. :)
I'll start with AF-related stuff, so if you're not at all interested in more
OT stuff (like museums, shows, and food), then you
can safely stop reading after the first section.
SHOPPING (and related stuff)!
First of all, I had pledged before I left that I would ONLY buy products
that were unavailable in the US. I *mostly* stuck
to that pledge, but not completely!
The day I arrived in London, I realized that I hated my hair. (Oddly,
this is what happened during my last trip, too. Those darned stylish
Londoners!) It was a few inches past my shoulders and it just wasn't
working. So my second day in the city I made an appointment at Toni & Guy
in Knightsbridge and got just a wonderful cut. It's a couple of inches
above my shoulders now - I guess you could call it sort of a layered bob.
Anyway, I love it. It's so much easier to care for and work with and is a
lot more flattering.
I visited the usual department store suspects: Harrod's, Harvey
Nichols, Liberty, Selfridge's, Fortnum & Mason. Of the group, I do admit
that Harrod's my absolute favorite. This place just stuns me every time I
visit - it's like I discover a new department or section that I don't
remember seeing before. The food hall alone - you could really spend a day
in there. All of the stores are so overwhelming, though, that honestly it's
too much to take in! You really could devote a trip to London just visiting
one of these stores a day and doing nothing else. You could spend three
days straight in Harrod's and I'm not kidding.
Although I greatly prefer Harrod's in almost every respect, I do slightly
prefer the cosmetic area at Harvey Nichols. They have a new (from the last
time I visited) area that carries an interesting array of unique skincare
lines and a juice bar to set off the "healthy/natural" feel of the lines
that are carried in that section. I saw the Armani cosmetics line there,
my first exposure to the line (although it was also sold at the huge
duty-free store at Heathrow). I tested a bit of the liquid foundation on my
hand - wow, was this stuff silky-smooth. The nice MA there chose a shade
for me and made me a tester to try. I wandered around a bit and became
impatient - I wanted to try the stuff right then! I wasn't wearing any
makeup per se - only tinted sunblock, but of course my skin is weird from
accutane (very flake-prone). I went to a mirror across from the MAC counter
and dabbed a bit of the foundation from the tester on my nose. Oh, wow...It
just sunk into every pore and stayed there and looked scary. It reminded me
why I've been avoiding makeup since going on accutane. I became desperate
to get this stuff off right away, so made liberal use of MAC's wipe-off cold
cream cleanser. I had to do a bit of magic with MAC's Hyperreal foundation
and blot powder on my nose to tone down the irritation from wiping the
Armani crap off. This must've been a very odd sight to anyone else hanging
around the cosmetics area!
Interestingly, I bought nothing at Selfridge's, despite its huge cosmetics
area. At Liberty (such an adorable store), I checked out L'Artisan's Tea
for Two. (I never made it to the L'Artisan boutique, sadly, although my
hotel wasn't that far from it.) Or, at least,
tried to check it out. They had one bottle for sale but NO tester!
Amazing. I didn't come away empty-handed, though - I bought
a jar of Pretty Pretty lip salve in Sissie, which looks like a reddish brown
in the (very large - what's up with that?) jar but is a neutralish rose on
me. I know I can get Pretty Pretty in the US, but it's not sold anywhere
around where I live, and this is the first time I'd seen the line in person.
Although Fortnum & Mason doesn't have one of the more impressively large
cosmetics sections, I found myself sniffing around the Guerlain fragrance
counter. (NOTE: This is before I read about Neroma's ghastly experiences!
Otherwise I probably would have avoided it out of protest!) I had become
fascinated with Jicky and wanted another whiff of the stuff. I spoke with
the very charming MA at length about Guerlain scents and after he
ascertained what my tastes were, he recommended that I go for Mitsouko
rather than Jicky. (He sniffed Jicky on one of my wrists, Mitsouko on the
other, and declared that Mitsouko was the way to go.) I remember sampling
Mitsouko in the past and thinking it was too...*something* for me. Too
strong, too something, just not right. But I sampled it anyway and - he
*was* right! In particular, it dries down to something very nice on me, at
least to my nose. Of course I bought a little bottle of the EDP.
Side note: according to the Guerlain MA at Dickens & Jones, there is a very
interesting story behind the creation of my favorite Guerlain scent, Liu.
Apparently, Mr. Guerlain (whichever was the Guerlain designing the scents at
the time) and Coco Chanel had a bet. They would each try to copy a scent
from the other's line. The winner - the person whose copy came closest to
the original - would then be able to market that copy. Well, Guerlain won
with "Liu" which was his copy of Chanel #5 and why it is so very similar to
Chanel #5, although I like Liu better personally! What a fascinating story.
Sounds almost apocryphal! I didn't compare dates of the creation of Liu
and Chanel #5 to make sure the latter predated the former to check the story
out. I asked if this is why it is now hard to find Liu - maybe there was a
Chanel crackdown ;) - she didn't know. :)
I made a trip to Pixi at Foubert Place in a desperate attempt to replace a
wonderful pot gloss I purchased during my last visit. It was gloss #7 and
was a very flattering rosy-brown neutral. Much to my dismay - it's been
discontinued!!! They seem to still have all of the other pot glosses, just
not that one. Why?! Blah! There was nothing there that struck my fancy
(the tinted moisturizer they sell now looked intruiging, but I was so bummed
about the pot gloss I didn't bother) so I left.
Lush on Carnaby Street - my last visit to London I visited the Lush in
Covent Garden and left empty-handed and unimpressed.
I've really changed my mind. :) I went to Lush with the intent of picking
up a jar of Sympathy for the Skin, a sample of which
I received from a kind AF'er some time ago. Once inside, however, I
realized - I'm in Lush! And I can't get this stuff at home!
And it's a fortune to have it shipped to me in the US! So I'd better make
the most of it. I had no intention of getting any facial skincare products,
but became intrigued with the Celestial moisturizer and bought one. I
picked up Sympathy for the Skin, Dream Cream (don't like the non-fragrance
fragrance but it does sink in nicely), a bar of Banana Moon soap, and H'Suan
Wen Hua pre-shampoo hair conditioner (which I have to use up quickly, as it
expires at the end of next month). I am SO glad I decided to get the
Celestial. I discovered soon thereafter that the moisturizer I'd brought
with me (Cetaphil cream - again, because of the accutane, my skin is pretty
sensitive) just wasn't hacking it, and started using the Celestial. It's
wonderful! I liked it so much I bought another jar before I left the city.
(Side note: Did y'all know there's a Lush store at Heathrow?)
Pout at Covent Garden - what a cute little store! (I am not crazy about the
area I consider to be Covent Garden proper, but I like the little shops on
the streets that surround it, like in the Neal's Yard area.) I bought a
couple of Pout pot glosses in Rovin' Rita, which I swear is a doppelganger
for Chantecaille Praline, one of my favorites (and a lot more expensive than
Pout's version). I also picked up a couple of 3CC pot glosses (warm rose
and beautopia) which I know was silly because I can get them in the states
but, hell, I was already there. ;)
Mary Quant - also a cute store. I came THISCLOSE to getting one of the
little two-gloss compacts and two neutral glosses, but then resisited at the
last moment. There were lots of interesting colors, but the thing
is...Because I can only handle sheer, moisturizing color right now, I can't
even look at matte or satin-finish lipsticks.
In Edinburgh, I bought a few things: From Jenner's a Guerlain (!) wand
gloss from their Terracotta line, "Terre des Sables". It's a lovely
shimmery rosy-brown neutral. I purchased some old prints from an antique
book store - these will be framed and hang in the entryway to our house.
And...some single-malt whiskey for my husband. ;) I was desperate to find a
replacement to the 21-year old Glenfiddich that I had purchased for him on
my last trip to the UK (it was the "Millenium edition", as it had been
bottled in 2000, and it was fairly easy to find at Heathrow's duty free
then). I brought it home after my last trip, he was able to enjoy a few
glasses of the stuff, and then one of our cats knocked the bottle off of the
shelf, shattering it into a billion pieces. Since then, we've purchased a
liquor cabinet. ;) Anyway, we've never been able to find the stuff back
home. Well, I had to travel all the way to Scotland to do it, but I found
it! I got him that, as well as Lagavulin's special "distiller's edition"
from 1984. As Lagavulin is my husband's favorite, I figured he would enjoy
this (which indeed he did).
Duty-free at Heathrow - a couple of CK lip color washes (in Brandy) and a
bottle of Johnny Walker blue label for my hubby.
SIGHTS I SAW:
I re-visited some places and saw others for the first time. The cool
thing was that the places I re-visited were new to me, as they had been
changed or re-arranged in various ways.
Can I just say how much I LOVE the Victoria & Albert museum? I spent a
good amount of time there during my last trip but since then, the place has
been re-arranged and the British Galleries have opened. I have a sort of
mini-tradition that I visit it right after I get into the city so, of
course, I'm so sleepy and out of it I have to go back to appreciate
everything I saw the first time. ;) At first, I was taken aback at how
everything seemed to be reorganized; I had really liked the "I'm wandering
through someone's attic" jumble of before. But upon further exploration, I
really like the changes. The British Galleries are just amazing - they, and
the rest of the museum, are a must for anyone interested in textiles or
fashion. The embroidery on display in the British Galleries alone, not to
mention the incredible dresses on display in the dress exhibit, are
breathtaking. My favorites from the dress collection are the Worth dresses
from around the turn of the century, the two dresses from poor doomed Mary
Primrose, the glorious red Balenciaga gown and the representative from
Dior's "new look". [Side note: The current special exhibit in the dress
section is "Men in Skirts", which displays not only work by Gauthier, Kenzo,
Yamamoto, and Karan, but also kilts and baby-doll dresses from early-90s
grunge.]
Anyway, the V&A is just incredible. I ended up going back two more times.
Each time, I discovered a whole section I'd never seen before. (Although I
was happy to stumble across one of my favorite little pieces from the last
time, "Time & Death", a very disturbing little wax sculpture.)
I revisited the Tate Modern (again, many new and different things there,
including Hirst's "Pharmacy" exhibit, although I didn't go to the Warhol
exhibit) and the National Gallery (I actually tried to visit this twice -
one visit doesn't do it - except it was closed on Good Friday). I also made
another visit to one of my very favorites, the National Portrait Gallery.
My favorite section is definitely the Tudor wing - not only because I find
those Holbein-esque portraits fascinating but because it's so dimly lit and
that really somehow fits with the whole feeling of the portraits there.
British Museum - this is one that I didn't fully appreciate my last visit.
I only spent
maybe a couple of hours there last time - I saw this this most recent trip,
however,
that I had barely scratched the surface before. There were some really
amazing exhibits there
(including some gorgeous iron jewelry!) - I see now why they say you don't
try to do the place in just one day!
Afterwards, I walked around the neighborhood with the intention of doing
some exploring for
antique books...Sadly for me, though, I had forgotten the "Sunday" factor
and the shops
were closed! I did get to see that amazing little Sicilian avenue. Does
anyone live in the
buildings overlooking it, or are those all offices?
London Eye - amazingly, I didn't ride this during my last visit.
Unfortunately, the sun was setting and there was tremendous glare in my
capsule. Should've waited another half an hour!
Kensington Palace - amazingly again, never visited this one before. It was
very nice...In addition to seeing the state rooms, there are exhibits of
clothing worn by Queens Victoria and Elizabeth II as well as Princess Diana.
And call me kooky, but my favorites were actually some of the gowns designed
for Elizabeth II! I know she has a rep for dressing frumpily, particularly
in the last couple of decades, but she has had her share of glamourous gowns
and many of them were quite gorgeous IMO!
Natural History Museum - too crowded with kids for me, but then again it's
meant for kids and families. It definitely has the *coolest* building,
though, both inside and outside! The Darwin exhibit was pretty darned neat.
(Anyone aware of an American natural history museum with a Darwin exhibit?)
Edinburgh - I took the train up (had to be at the train station at 6:30 in
the morning, and I didn't get a wake up call from the front desk, so I'm
lucky I woke up on my own - lesson here, bring a travel alarm next time) so
I got so see the northeastern English countryside and Scottish coast. Let
me just say how beautiful Edinburgh is. Honestly, I had no idea what a
gorgeous city it is. All of the photos I've ever seen have been of specific
buildings but not that whole spectacular panorama you see as you're leaving
the train station and walking towards Princes Street. Just breathtaking.
Both the "old town" and the "new town" were wonderful. Sadly, I was only up
there for a day. I had purchased a package that included the train ride up
and back as well as a bus tour around the city and a ticket to Edinburgh
castle. I took the bus tour (sitting on the top of a double-decker bus) to
get a layout of things but knew I wouldn't go on the castle tour - that
would just stuck up too much of the day, and I only had five or so hours to
spend! So I just rode the bus around, hopping on and off and various spots
and exploring the city before I had to catch the train back. I really would
like to visit again!
SHOWS
I saw five West End shows while I was in London: two plays (This is Our
Youth and Art) and three musicals (Kiss Me Kate,
The Full Monty, and Mamma Mia). None of them I adored as much as Chicago,
which I caught during my last visit, or hated
as much as The Witches of Eastwick, the other show I saw last time.
Kiss Me Kate is one of my favorite "classic" musicals
but no less than four cast members (including the leading lady, transported
from the Broadway production) were replaced with
understudies that night and something seemed a bit...off. You gotta love
the score, though!
This is Our Youth was well acted by the three performers in it, although I
had mixed feelings about the play itself. They were all "young Hollywood"
types: Hayden Christiansen (of course best known as the new Anakin
Skywalker in the to-be-released Star Wars opus; I saw him, or someone who I
assume was him, eating with some gal on the balcony above the entrance to
the theater during the afternoon before the show), Anna Paquin (Oscar winner
for "The Piano"), and Jake Gyllenhaal (probably the least known of the
three, although he's gotten some very positive exposure for some indie
stuff, like "October Sky" and "Donnie Darko"). Of the group, Jake
Gyllenhaal definitely gave the best performance - he was excellent, in fact.
After the show, I did something I hadn't done before - I noticed a small
group waiting outside what appeared to be the stage door. They were almost
all female and all young (about the age of the students I teach at the
university). So I figured what the hell and waited also, curious about what
would happen. I chatted a bit with the limo drivers who were waiting to
pick up the actors - apparently two of the actors, Paquin and Christiansen,
never like to hang around to greet fans and sneak out another entrance, but
Gyllenhaal will come out and sign autographs. (Also, apropos of nothing,
according to the limo drivers Chris Tucker is very rude and Chris Rock is
very nice. Anyway.) So after a while, Jake Gyllenhaal did come out, much
to the obvious thrill of the young ladies waiting for him. I met him
briefly and got his autograph.
If you'd like to hear about the other shows in more detail feel free to ask.
;)
FOOD!
I had some memorable meals while in London. I had for the first time an
English breakfast, fish & chips (yeah, I avoided this last time) and an
afternoon tea. I liked the English breakfast (although admittedly I didn't
really touch the baked beans) and HATED the fish & chips. I loved the
chips, but...Really, I should have known better, because I hated cooked
fish. I hate the taste and the smell and I really should've known! (I love
sushi, but lose interest once it's been cooked!) I loved the afternoon tea
(I went to Fortnum & Mason) - the ritual of the whole thing is a lot of fun
(and at F&M they serve it with a wonderful "Welsh rarebit crumpet" - a
cheese crumpet with a couple of pieces of bacon on it. Really good!).
I visited Chinatown for the first time, which is a wonderful place to get an
inexpensive lunch, especially if you love dim sum (as I do). I went to
Harbour City twice while I was in town and ordered dim sum off the menu.
The whole thing, plus chrysanthemum tea and a bottle of water, went for less
than 7 pounds each time!
I had a couple of more upscale meals. I had a very nice lunch at Clarke's,
a lovely little place in the Notting Hill Gate area. It's run by chef Sally
Clarke, and each day the menu is completely different, depending on what the
freshest available ingredients are that day. (I had a three-course meal,
which consisted of, respectively, roe deer and thinly-sliced ham, lamb with
herbed anchovy butter, and bitter chocoate cake with liquered prunes). On
my last evening before Mamma Mia I went to L'Escargot and had a very lovely
meal there. I eschewed the prix fixe pre-theatre menu and just ordered my
courses a la carte (I had, respectively, escargot, angus beef, and a
carpaccio of pineapple), which was of course a pricier way of going about it
but I was very pleased!
The ice cream parlour at Harrod's is very nice - I had some incredible
strawberry ice cream there!
Anyway...That pretty much covers the basics. There's quite a bit more that
I'm sure I'll remember after I write this. :)
Belinda
It has been too long since I visited: 10 years. I have resolved to go again
soon! I adored Harrods too. Isn't it just an incredible store? And I fully
agree about the Victoria and Albert museum. I went with my mother and we
just oohed and aaahed over the historical fashion/costume section.
--
Belinda
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Calvin: "What makes the wind?"
Dad: "Trees sneezing."
[calvin and hobbes]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jacqueline
Poliwhyrl wrote in message ...
>I spent the last week and a half of March in London, with a brief side trip
>to Edinburgh. It was my second visit to
>London and my first to Edinburgh.
Isn't Edinburgh the most beautiful city? I only live 70 miles from it but I
am still very impressed each time I visit. If you really want to shop in
Scotland, you've got to visit Glasgow! I'm dissapointed that you didn't try
haggis while you were up here but at least you know how to appreciate a good
single malt :-) Haste ye back!
Louise
Regards, Louise
Laura Keating
purchases!
Could you tell me which terminal you flew out of in Heathrow? I flew
through Heathrow on my way back from Prague two weeks ago and didn't
see a Lush or any Armani cosmetics. Just curious for future trips!
Thanks in advance,
Laura
Poliwhyrl
sure that was the one!
There are LOTS of duty-free shops in there, but one that is *huge* and
carries not only alcohol,
cosmetics, and fragrances, but also Wedgwood (I have a weakness for the blue
jasperware ;) , different
types of crystal and china, and other stuff! I regret not picking up a neat
blue jasperware Wedgwood pendant
I saw there.
How was Prague? I've never been there but have always heard it's one of the
most beautiful cities on earth.
"Laura Keating" <lcke...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b0bca171.02040...@posting.google.com...
Poliwhyrl
"Jacqueline" <Jacqu...@stewartantiques.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:a8k5i9$ehj$1...@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
I was tempted to buy a can (!) of haggis but figured it would be seized at
Customs! ;) I hardly
had time to eat in Edinburgh, sadly...I stopped for a quick bite at a pizza
place in the Grassmarket,
so I didn't get to sample the regional fare.
I very much want to return to Scotland and get a good look around! It's so
lovely there, and everyone
I met was so warm.
Laura Keating
too, so it's probably just as well I didn't see Lush....my bags were
heavy enough as it was.
Prague is really beautiful and very interesting. It was the first
time I really felt so far away from home, it is so unlike anywhere
I've ever been and luckily, not too modern or "Americanized". That
will probably change though, as the Czech Republic is looking to join
the EU in 2003, and I'm sure soon enough it will be overrun with
familiar stores and restaurants. (There are some McDonalds, KFCs and
Dunkin' Donuts, but that's about it really, and one Friday's.)
The city is small enough to walk around everywhere in the city center,
pretty much, but it inevitable that you will get lost at times. It's
very old-world but then there are these Communist-era ugly buildings,
making for a very interesting contrast. You can still feel the
effects of the Communist era, it's definitely a country in the middle
of change, struggling to catch up to the rest of Europe.
Aside from the airfare and hotel, it's a pretty inexpensive city too.
We ate wonderful 3 course meals for $30 (for 2 at one of the four star
restaurants), and a pint of beer is around 75 cents. You could
definitely eat a nice meal for $5-8 or so, esp. if you like the Czech
food. There was some shopping (although I wouldn't buy anything from
stores that are in the US; there is a section with Hermes, Hugo Boss,
etc.), mostly crystal, glass, amber, garnets and marrionets (sp?). I
bought a really lovely garnet necklace, but that's about it.
It's definitely worth visiting, you can see the city in 4 days
although we were there for a week. It really is a wonderful place!
take care,
laura
"Poliwhyrl" <mdNOsea...@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<oykr8.19288$ml2.1...@newsread1.prod.itd.earthlink.net>...