The Tate Modern Art Gallery on the Way to South Bank. You can walk all along the river side.
It was a productive Friday for me, for a change. I went out to Borough market for a lunch date with Ro and enjoyed it a lot. I had tomato and basil baguette with a salty beef filling. The condiments were the best part..apple sauce, Dijon mustard, spicy salsa and garlic mayo. For 4.35 quid you get a huge baguette and very filling. Ro opted for his usual- prawn and fish (very very fishy) in a tortilla wrap. Dessert choices were way too many and we started with a chocolate filled eclair and a french cake (teeny weeny cakes with a caramel and orange glaze). I had to have the carrot cake and after walking past umpteen dessert stalls i finally decided on one, but when i got there the banana cakes were way more appealing and i bought that instead. Ro picked up a double chocolate brownie (so much for my Kelloggs Special K diet!).
From the time Ro went for his Schengen Visa to the German Consulate, he's been telling me to head to Sloane Street in Knightsbridge (a very upmarket area- home to a lot of celebrities like Nigella Lawson, Hugh Grant etc). Since i didn't have much on my agenda, and since i wanted to pick up a pair of shoes, i thought id head out there. Well, well what awaits me is a never ending lane of Armani's and Louis Vuittons and D & G's and Chanels. He sent me to a street with only branded shops! Why? I have no idea? Does he generally want me to feel horrible? No idea! Anyways i walked down the lane and each step i took i just felt more miserable in seeing the beautiful clothes, shoes and bags. I walked into the Jimmy Choo boutique and loved almost everything there. Now the weird part was, the shops were practically empty and so when a customer walks in occasionally, its a treat for them. They hover around you in the hope you would buy something. I, with my torn jeans and dirty sneaker, was definitely not of interest to them. So it made me very awkward walking into these and trying on stuff. In some of the shops, i was the only one. I blamed it on the credit crunch. The Yves Siant Lauren outlet had a sale. I walked in to find out that the cheapest item on sale cost an arm and a leg. Walked out telling myself that it was anyways not my style. But i also told myself I'll pick up a Jimmy Choo shoe atleast on eBay!
After a vain attempt at trying to figure out the bus route to Trafalgar Square i decided to walk towards the nearest tube station. There are a couple of affordable shops in and around that area. Did numerous trial sessions at Next and H&M, picked up a nail kit and mag from Boots and headed to Ro's office in London Bridge. His office is right by the Thames River and there are a couple of cafe/bars/pubs with Al fresco dining. Picked up a coffee and was just beginning to settle down with the mag when the freaking pigeons started bugging me (I hate anything with feathers- to be more precise birds freak the hell out of me). So in my process of moving from one point to the other i ended up not reading the mag and not enjoying the coffee and would have sent atleast 10 messages in a span of 15minutes to Ro asking him to come out fast. Anyways we then walked over to South Bank where a lot of concerts and dance and arty farty stuff happens. There was a free Jazz concert on and so hung around there for a long two hours. I, for a change, actually enjoyed the concert even though i couldn't relate to it that much. Caught a movie on the way back and reached home really late.
.....if only every day was like this Friday:)
Kudos to lazy fridays...ever since our chat about my diet plan, it had to be chucked too...i have gained back that precious 2kg (or more) i think...n’ that oh so ugly tyre on my midsection is back on display.....why is it that it takes ages to loose weight n' just a silly weekend to gain it back????
ReplyDeleteJimmy Choo is the most depressing shoe/bag store i have ever been to....i loved everything there too :(...we have this mall here with all the big brands under one roof kinds n' not knowing too much, i had ventured there not so long ago and had one of THE most depressing shopping expedition ever...i swore never to go back there again...not that I needed to worry, apparently that place is meant only for the sheikhs n' the sheikhas....but your ebay idea seems cool, I never thought about that...do let me know if you find something affordable n' awesome...;)
Ah...I could read your travel blog any time di - even if you are shit bored and frustrated cos you want a Jimmy Choo (LOVE those shoes!)... :O)
ReplyDeleteWish you many more happy Fridays such as these :O)
Miri...i finally bought a weighing scale and realised id gained 2 kgs in the past 3 months. Yes and the oh so ugly mid section is the worst and cant hide it too...Sigh!
ReplyDeleteAnd the shoes..ho i don think i can ever afford one on ebay also..i mean i did find some awesome ones but they are still a tad too exp for me at the moment. Others are all the ballerina types and i have way too many of those..Il still wait and bid:)
Jungle jane: How was weekend? Yes, weekend was layzeeeeeeeeee
hehe good to know u enjoyed the friday and how was the weekend?? lazy huh??
ReplyDeleteAww i know wat u told abt the branded stores and stuff...pheww since Kuwait has most brands and most places cost a ******* its damn depressing...I do see lovely stuff that r not worth the price at all...I have walked out of many stores telling that I am not willing to spend so much on a stupid dress, shoe etc...but i did get soem stupid branded shoe last week which cost me (dont ask how much!!!) coz i need it to waer for my conferece... After sometime of walking around in it, belive me i was in tears and my feet were a mess...U wont belive the amount of bandaids i had to get from the Marriott employess to atleast sit down...the pain was too much and i somehow walked out of the hotel by the end of the day in a lot of pain...and by the time i reached home, i couldnt tolerate it any longer...so removed the shoes , put it into a bag and walked through the dustry street, stairs and all and went home ...phewwww
@enigma..yeah sometimes we get carried away by the looks of it ..we forget the comfort part..i have so many clothes that are unbelievably uncomfortable but i cling on to them still:)
ReplyDeletehahah, thst so true... I has a whole wadrobe to give away wen i was moving to Kuwait and most clothes had tags on it...Left the huge heap of clothes on my bed and neighbours and cousins took it all...Anyway who wouldnt want clothes whose tags were also never removed..lol...but i would love to know who took those teeny weeny skirts and all LOL
ReplyDeleteWhenw e were coming 2 London and had to chuck most of our (mine) clothes..i cried..im not joking i cried like i was letting go of my life or somethin..Ro thought it was absolutely stupid of me to cry over clothes..what the hell does he know...hmmmppppffff! I would have felt better if i was giving it to some cousin or friend who would know the value of a levis or Giordano, but no i had to pack it all up for an orphanage cos it was jus the day before we left and was unbelievable over weight...i still feel upset thinking abt all those clothes i had to part with:(
ReplyDeleteheheh, well i dont mind giving to orpanages and all as i made Deeps clean out his wardrobe and give (u wont belive how much clothes) most of it to an orphanage...and his clothes also icluded all the branded tshirts, tops, jeans pants etc... wen some of his cousins saw that some where brand new, they took it, rest his uncle took for the workers on the estate and still gave a huge bundle to the orphanage... But ya its so difficlut to part with the good stuff... heheh
ReplyDeleteI don mind giving 2 orphanages as well..infact i do give stuff to the children's homes...but not the clothes i have worn jus once or maybe never...that was really heart breaking...Nice silk shawls and the like:(
ReplyDeleteohh ya i can undertsnd that...and my mom is the ultimate giver...she has emptied out my cupboards without any mercy...the last time i went home i found that i dint have anything left to waer...and I threw a fit... She keeps telling me - learn to give...Hell i do give a lot too, but i also do need something to wear na...and she tels me that i am not goin anywhere with these clothes and since fashion keeps changing no point in hoarding it all up...
ReplyDeleteHo...don even get me started on my mom..She is exactly like what u jus mentioned...my dad jokes about it saying..one day she will throw me also out saying im old:)
ReplyDeleteYes, wish you many fridays of this sort. :D Enjoyed ur thoughts on shopping on Sloane street. The day I decide to dress in something the cat dragged in, I'd end up at some place that I have been meaning to go for a long time. And I will be cursing the better-half for doing this to me!!
ReplyDelete@butterfly..i sooooo understand what ur talking about.
ReplyDelete