London: Walking Tours with Rachel and Ann
Is Liam the Future for Britain?
Stamped graffiti found this past weekend.
Friday and Saturday were devoted to walking tours. Friday's was led by Rachel, who met me in Kilburn and executed a circuitous loop to St. John's Wood, Little Venice, and Maida Vale, areas of London I hadn't yet seen. One completely unexpected highlight was Alexandra & Ainsworth Estate, a 1977 terraced estate by Neave Brown. That some examples of 1970s architecture manage to be simultaneously futuristic and dated has become a personal delight.
View from street into the estate.
View to upper floors.
We found lunch at Adafina, a Sephardic deli, where I had a salt beef sandwich and tiny desserts, which included rugelach and a slice of baklava. Later we hit Little Venice, which I think should be called Little Amsterdam. What is it about urban canals?
Little Venice.
After skirting Maida Vale, we ended the day with Matt and Ann at Acorn House, a very green restaurant near King's Cross. It was an outstanding meal, one of if not the best I've had in London.
On Saturday, Ann led the tour. Matt and I met her at Hounslow East tube station and we bussed to Osterley; from there we walked to Osterley Park, where we spent some time in the park and the very grand house. Signs of an impending hayfever attack on the part of one of our party shortened our stay, but it was still incredibly beautiful as well as strange to contemplate the fact that the massive park is actually in London.
The rest of the day was spent wandering around central London. We had dinner at Abeno, where we ate okonomiyaki—we were just introduced to okonomiyaki earlier last week by Ben and Devon. Later, on our long walk following dinner, we sauntered down a perfect mews, at the end of which was a pub called The Duke, a cozy spot.
Doughty Mews.
Both days were full of the sort of unexpected surprises that wandering yields.
I agree about canals...when me and L were in LA, we walked Venice Beach canals for hours. Utterly appealing.
can't wait for you to be here!!!!
Posted by: pwadj | July 02, 2008 at 15:53