Last day in London. I must say I was feeling the exhaustion set in that morning, after having walked all over the city for the past nine days. I was planning to do some souvenir shopping, then find a place to picnic in a park somewhere if the weather turned sunny.
Tea shopping at Fortnum & Mason’s
My made my first stop the London Fortnum & Mason’s to check out their selection of teas. This is a very high-end specialty food, tea, and wine shop. Grocery shopping under an elegant crystal chandelier.
I sampled several teas from teeny tiny acrylic cups. The tea available to sample was numerous, each sample provided in a glass tea pot on the counter with a candle under each pot to keep it warm. A very friendly person behind the counter poured samples for me.
There were impressive cases of candy confections like Turkish Delight, nougat, and candied fruit near the tea section which were beautiful to see. Before buying my tea, I explored the upper and lower floors. Upstairs, I browsed the clothing and housewares, baskets, and some additional gift items. The lower floor was a restaurant and a take-away section. There, you could also buy a pint of strawberries for £9.00.
I settled on a few boxes of tea including their Earl Grey which was one of my favorites. They bundled it up nicely in a small robin egg blue bag, just like a Tiffany jewelry box.
With my first purchase in hand, I departed the tea shop and walked a short ways to Oxford and Regent, then Carnaby Road.
Regent Street Shopping
On Regent Street, I explored Liberty, a luxury department store which is the oldest store in London.
I went in and out of shops window shopping. Then there was a short minute when I realized I lost my Oyster card. I slightly panicked, but luckily retraced my steps for about a block and found it on the street! I love that on the busiest shopping street in London no one bothered picking it up.
I wasn’t looking for anything specific, just something simple that would commemorate my trip (other than specialty tea) which was uniquely British, and not too expensive. I thought I struck gold when I found an eclectic shop on Carnaby Street that sold plastic pigeons and a Benedict Cumberbatch coloring book. Definitely a real find! But I ended up passing on these items.
I also located a Top Shop and a Marks and Spencer department store. Also fun stores to browse, but nothing I wanted to purchase.
After a few hours of wandering aimlessly, the slight amount of sun I had in the early part of the day was now turning to clouds, and also getting cold. My energy was waning, so I concluded I was done with shopping. I gave it my best effort and had acquired some tea.
I was convinced that I was not far from Covent Garden, which would be a good destination to grab some lunch, then maybe shop more, however I was mistaken. I began walking and found myself back in Trafalgar Square.
Having been here a few times already, I knew there wasn’t much I wanted to do in this area. And with the cold winds setting in, I needed shelter from the elements. I ducked in to the National Gallery building. Warmth!
I found a bench next to the gift shop and parked it there for about 5 minutes. It was a calm scene without a lot of hustle and bustle. I was so enjoying the warmth and calmness of the scene.
Not wanting to leave, I went seeking out the museum’s café to see if it would be a good place to hang out for a while, mostly to stay warm!
I found the museum dining room, which I think may be different from the café. The menu looked simple (which was good), and as an alternative to going back outside, I asked for a table and ordered lunch which consisted of a pot of Earl Grey tea and a ham, leek, and fennel quiche.
I spent a good hour camping out here. My table had a perfect view of Trafalgar Square. I watched tourists walking in every direction and street performers. One gravity-defying floating Yoda guy was attracting quite a crowd.
As I left the Gallery building, the sun was poking through the clouds bringing back a little warmth. Finding my second wind, I wound my way back to some shops I hadn’t visited yet.
By early afternoon, I was really just wandering aimlessly, so I knew it was time to call it a day. I hopped back on the Tube, and went back to Bloomsbury. I found an open bench in the park, and relaxed for a while.
The sun was out a little. As I sat there, the pigeons inched closer and closer to me. These are seriously big pigeons here.
It was now close to 5:00 o’clock, and I needed to return my flat key to the automatic check-out service arranged for my flat rental. I dropped off my key, then stopped at the Waitrose grocery store in Brunswick Center to pick up something for dinner.
I grabbed a few deli items and snacks that I could take on the plane with me tomorrow.
And as I was checking out, the cashier asked me if I was working or had a day off? And I thought to myself, score for me! On my last day, I finally successfully passed as a local.
