We rise to another nice day and get prepared, having a small breakfast using some of the groceries we bought last night. We head for the Notting Hill Gate Underground Station; today we ride to the neighborhood we will explore! Two walks in Chelsea!
Buying tickets is a bit of an adventure. We need to purchase something called an Oyster card and put some money on it. Happily, there is an agent at the machines helping such newbies as us Americans to buy the right thing. Cards loaded with a week's worth of fare (about 32 Pounds each), we tap the cards to the stiles and enter the Underground.
After a few anxious minutes, the scheme begins to return to me. Each line has its own color and the large system map shows all the lines. You need to know where you are and where you want to go, then decide what route you should take (usually pretty clear choice), then find the right line in the station you are in. Notting Hill Gate serves the Circle, Central and District Lines. We decide we want the Gloucester Road Station, so we take the Circle line south from Notting Hill Gate.
Detraining and departing the station, it takes me a few minutes to figure which streets are which. This is not easy! It's an overcast day and I can't quickly figure out which way is north. Add to that the fact that local maps on posts outside of the station aren't always oriented with North - Up. I finally figure it out and we head south.
The first Chelsea walk we are taking is in a lovely neighborhood. But
it is also very busy with maintenance. Work crews are everywhere. It seems they
all the workers speak Italian. This is an upscale neighborhood and all of the
construction companies are boasting how considerate they are. The reason for so
much work is the obvious age of these buildings. They've all been here for at
least 300 years, it seems. Even though the buildings need some work I would be
happy to own any of them.
We continue on the walk, finally meeting up with the Thames at the
Albert Bridge. We turn east and walk along the river. Even here, there is a lot
of construction. Work scows are anchored just off the north bank and many
sections of the road adjacent are cordoned off from use. Looks like some major water works repairs are happening.
We continue west along the
Thames and approach the highlight of this walk, the Ranleagh Gardens, just
adjacent to the Royal Hospital, a sort of a central VA for the British Army.
Sadly, the Gardens are closed for renovation. We can’t get through to the
Hospital beyond and must walk to the corner. At least we get to see Chelsea
Bridge close up.
We turn the corner and head north. Eventually, we come upon a pub,
the Rose and Crown. We are both hungry, so we stop for lunch. It is a nice
place, but the food is mediocre. After lunch, we exit the pub and continue onto
the 2nd Chelsea walk, going north to King’s Road, then turning west.
This is the London version of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. All of
the smartest designers in the world have a store here, it seems. Money oozes along
the road. It is a nice stroll, with lots of lovely people-watching, but I was
happy to be on a bus and headed for Hyde Park to walk home through the Park and
Kensington Gardens.
We get home to Pinehurst Court and rest up. We decide to try the “Electric
Diner” for dinner. We share an olive crostino, Amy has the Forbidden Rice Bowl,
and I have the Honey Fried Chicken. It is a little spicy, but loaded with
flavor. We enjoy talking with our servers during the meal. One is from Romania
and the other is from Maryland by way of LA. The latter is here to start graduate
studies at the London College later this month.
It’s been a long day with a lot of walking and we stumble home
happy, but very tired. What will tomorrow hold for us?
No comments:
Post a Comment