Church, Chores, Books, Lox, & Festivity: a Satisying Sunday

I woke up for what has become my usual Sunday routine: 11:30am mass at Our Lady of Victories on High Street Kensington, followed by grocery shopping at Tesco Metro.  After heading home, storing and labeling my food, and cleaning the weekend-worn kitchen, I decided to head to Charing Cross Road and get my first feel of the used book scene in London.  I’ve been having the itch for a while and was looking for a quintessentially British book to pop out at me that would perfectly fill the void of free time I’ve been having lately.  Vassar has groomed me to be a 100+ page per night reader during the semesters, but my courses here are much more get-out-and-see rather than stay-in-and-read; not that I’m complaining — I would much rather want to read something of my choosing than being forced to swallow dense theory.

My first stop was Any Amount of Books.  A few books popped out of the £1/4 for £5 bins, but then the moment I was hoping for happened: Ada Leverson’s Love’s Shadow.  Let me list the  factors at play that made me realise I needed to buy the £3 book:

1) a bubblegum paperback with an aesthetic freakishly akin to moi

2) set in Knightsbridge, the next tube stop from South Kensington

3) Ada Leverson (1862 – 1933) is described in the Note About the Author as “well-known in London society for her witty, outrageous remarks. Her friends included Aubrey Beardsley, Max Beerbohm, Mrs Patrick Campbell and most notably, Oscar Wilde, who christened her his ‘Sphinx’…In her later years her friends included Harold Acon, William Walton and the Sitwells.”

4) amazing condition…might as well be brand new

Even though my used book moment happened, I headed into the other used bookstore next door: Henry Pordes Books Ltd.  It seemed like a step above Any Amount of Books selection and price wise, and I enjoyed browsing the shelves and books on some of my favorite topics, such as tea, fairy tales, and urban planning.  I soon realised that this last topic was as much pleasure as research for Tuesday’s City as Material course…score!

Finally, I headed in to Koenig Books, the most high-end of the three and specializing in art and culture books.  The topics were great for browsing but very pricey.  Soon enough my hunger took over and I decided to head back to Manson Place.

And here I am!  Blogging and noshing on lox & cream cheese, complimented by Sauvignon Blanc (went for a 1/2 price bottle instead of the usual 3 for £10, and I can definitely taste the difference) — my culinary Sunday splurge for the week.  It’s just the Marist girls and I in the kitchen right now, but soon enough the boys will be back from Oktoberfest in Munich, including the 21st birthday boy, Kenny.  Cupcakes — or should I say fairy cakes, according to Sainsbury’s — are being decorated and balloons are being taped to the walls as I type.  I must say, this is quite a satisfying Sunday…

Published in: on October 4, 2009 at 5:34 pm  Comments (2)  
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Out & About

Despite the lack of recent posts, I’ve had a very active [social] week!

Monday (14-Spet) was the FIE Welcome Reception held at the International Students House.  Highlights: 2 free drink vouchers and realizing London DJs have very shallow expectations for American colleges students when it comes to music.  Afterward, I headed to the local pub Zetland Arms with the Vassar and Marist flatmates, including some other Marist students that live in Manson Place.  It was great spending time together, and it has been happening a lot more lately — the flat is definitely feeling more like home than living with 12 strangers.

Tuesdays mean free entrance for students at the Sports Cafe in Piccadilly Circus, and I finally decided to join the Marist kids for their weekly voyage there (and managed to convince Mike and Avey to join.  I owed them a night out since I played straight 3rd wheel at a gay club on Saturday night).  It was actually really fun (I definitely scratched my dancing itch), but it was overwhelmingly American; I’m pretty sure everyone there and every song was originally from the U.S., but I’m also pretty sure I didn’t care!

Wednesday was a bit more subdued, and we just hung out in the flat for the evening.

Thursday evening I headed home from a long day of working at a Method event with Solar Associates.  It was great seeing the programme in action and meeting the faces that match the voices I’ve been hearing on podcasts for the past week.  Sure, working 11 hours was tough, but the fact that three of those hours were spent socializing with an intriguing group of artists over wine at the venue followed by a beer at a pub definitely made it palatable 😉  Thankfully, I headed home to a flat full of people indulging in the same…just with plastic cups and drinking games instead of pool.  Oh well, whatever works!

Friday and Saturday was spent hitting the town (and hitting up male bar buying charity) with Sarah and Lauren.  Friday was spent on Brick Lane, a conglomeration of pubs, bars, clubs, and people ready to have a good time.  93 Feet East was what drew us there: a popular bar that doesn’t charge a cover on Fridays and features an outdoor bar and picnic table as well as an indoor dance floor.  Upon the recommendation of some Italians, we ended the night at T-Bar…all I’m going to say is fog machines were involved, and I can officially say I’ve experienced a Euro club.  The night ended with sharing a McDonald’s table with South Africans before heading home on a Night Bus.  We stayed a bit more local on Saturday and threw it back to the prohibition area by getting into a speakeasy in Sloane Square.  Bart’s was everything I hoped a speakeasy would be: festively hidden and secretive, but once you’re in you’re down for a good time…and really good drinks.  Like the Friday before at a South Kensington club Diva Beach (very similar to NYC’s Bed), the bartenders were ready and willing to create the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted; as opposed to NYC, London bars seem to appreciate quality over quantity when serving their patrons.

I spent another Sunday out around town.  My first stop was an exciting one: booking a hotel room for Madre!  She is visiting from 7 – 15 November and will be staying at the London Visitor’s Hotel, about a 20 minute walk from Manson Place and off of Kensington High Street.  The best part: we got a double, so I can sleepover!  I’m really excited to have her here; every adventure I go on I can’t help but think “showing and sharing this will be even better.”

Next, I headed up Kensington High Street to the 11:30am mass at Our Lady of Victories.  It is the parish’s Solemn Mass, featuring a beautiful Latin choir and chanted by the priest.  It was an incredibly meditative experience, intensified by the beautiful gothic features of the church.  It just felt so…original, in the sense that it was like experiencing the same ceremony that was the only ceremony hundreds of years ago.  I loved the experience, and I definitely plan on attending the 11:30am more often  (I like flexing my Latin choral muscles, and luckily could thanks to the pamphlets that were distributed with the sheet music!).

After mass, I met up with Sarah, Avey, and Mike at Sloane Square to attend some more Open Houses: Holy Trinity Church and the department store Peter Jones.  Lauren, John and I attended two on Saturday: The Ismaili Center and  The Octagon.  It was a great program; all of the tours were very insightful and yet another reminder of how architecturally diverse and rich London is.  Here are some photos from Sunday’s tours:

Holy Trinity Church

The beauty of the Peter Jones merchandise dually inspired and discouraged Sarah, Mike and I, so we embarked on a shopping mission to the cheapest store of all: Primark in Oxford Circus (think of it as Forever 21’s cheaper, chicer, European cousin).  Naturally we needed fuel first, though, so we stopped for some eggs and toast at a cute cafe.  Although deliciously sophisticated, I must admit I’m craving some good old greasy American diner food (and did I mention cheaper?  The plate cost more in pounds without factoring in conversion yet, and although sprinkled with fresh thyme it did not include potatoes or bacon…boo).  Protein power helped Sarah and I plow through the crowds and the mass array of racks and piles of clothing.  I was ready to invest in my London nightlife wardrobe’s future, and thanks to Sarah’s guiding voice and severe price cuts I came out extremely successful.  Everything [I purchased] is cute (it did take some significant fishing through Euro-trash garments), and the majority cost less than brunch.  Now that’s how to shop.

Published in: on September 21, 2009 at 11:13 am  Leave a Comment  
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Sublime Sunday

*reading this post requires a map! go utilize Google Maps: Notting Hill, London, UK*

My first Sunday in London was exactly what I wanted it to be!  I headed off on my first solo-adventure without any time constraints, bag stocked with my A to Z map, Let’s Go London guide, and Not For Tourists guide, with one goal: to follow any whim that should come over me!

First stop was 11:30 a.m. mass at Our Lady of Victories on Kensington High Street.  It was wonderful and the church was beautiful; it had a peaceful alcove that set the church back from the bustle of High St.  After the service, I noticed a statue of St. Therese and decided to donate and light a candle in front of her.  She is my patron saint as well as my grandmother’s (we share the name Marie Therese), and it just seemed too good to be true that she would be a permanent fixture in my local church.  It was very comforting, just like the mass, and served as the perfect way to start off my day!

Next, I decided to head north on Kensington Church Street to Notting Hill Gate to explore the area.  I first walked along the famous Portobello Road to the market named after it, explored the side streets like Elgin Crescent, then headed across Westbourne Grove and through the residential Pembrige Villas and Pembridge Road.  I absolutely loved how eclectic the area was; the alternative and thrifty shops along Portobello Rd. neighbored a beautiful area of boutiques and more upscale shops that definitely had a heavy Italian influence.  All in all, I definitely feel as though I successfully explored the area, though I’m sure there’s much more to it!  There were so many cute places that I can’t wait to return to.  I tried to document my journey as best as I could via pictures, stopping to snap anything that caught my eye or any time I found myself saying “wow” in my head.  Flying solo really came in handy in this respect, since I got to stop whenever I wanted without feeling like holding others back and got to wander without the burden of inconveniencing others by getting a little off course.

I eventually headed back down to Notting Hill Gate, where I met up with Mike who headed up to the area through Kensington Gardens.  We headed home together and decided to explore the park more in doing so, including crossing over The Serpentine into Hyde Park.  It was extremely serene and refreshing, and the scapes were unreal!

As if the day wasn’t sweet enough, my Vassar flatmates and I decided to whip up a (very large) batch of homemade cookies for the flat.  In addition to using UK measurements (big moment) they featured delicious chunks of Cadbury chocolate and the UK equivalent of a Heath Bar.  Besides being delicious, it was great to have heat and sweet aromas from the kitchen, and it was really nice bonding with our other flatmates.  Nothing brings people together like the smell of fresh baked cookies!  Ironically enough, they are from Marist; Poughkeepsie relocated?  A bit, but it’s nice to have a little piece of home at our temporary home.

As you can hopefully see, it was probably my favorite day thus far.

Published in: on September 6, 2009 at 11:55 pm  Leave a Comment  
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