So, I’m on annual leave. I wasted a couple of days just mooching around at home doing nothing much. But today was going to be different.
It was a sunny morning. I had London before me to explore. I had no firm idea where to go until I started walking towards the station.
It felt like a Covent Garden, Soho and Regent Street kinda day.
From Wimbledon Station, I took the District Line to Earls Court where I changed to the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden Station. It was an easy ride. There were hardly anyone on the trains and I sat most of my way there.
There are only two options you can take to leave Covent Garden Station — either a lift or a 193 step staircase.
I took the lift and walked out onto the cobbled streets.
And there it was. Covent Garden markets greeting the city after a long lockdown. It was nice to see. I wandered down the side street. Doing nothing much other than window shopping.
I was walking towards Leicester Square when I came to a store called Lulu Guinness. There in the rather expensive looking shop window was a red lips handbag!
It was mid-sized and glossy. I realised the cheap and cheerful bag I bought on Amazon was perhaps a knock off.
I walked on and came to the park at the centre of Leicester Square. Yes, there are bronze statues there. But the flowers surrounding the park were so bright and beautiful, I had to take a picture.
Walking further on, I passed the entrance to Chinatown. I was getting hungry and the red lanterns did look inviting. I know Regent Street was waiting for me, but decided to take a detour for some food.
Walked up Wardour Street to see what I could find.
There were lots of red lanterns. And a Vietnamese restaurant called Vietfood.
I sat down and ordered a bowl of pho and some water. The waiter brought over the fish sauce without me asking! The noodles and broth were delicious and the entire meal only cost about £8. Not bad for London prices.
There was a lovely German woman and her Vietnamese friend who sat at the table next to mine. I tried not to listen to their conversation. It was difficult.
When lunch was over, I paid and walked towards Piccadilly Circus.
I saw the familiar fountain and the red London buses going around the circus. Who knew things would go up a notch just around the corner as I hit Regent Street.
I’d only been here with my family during the evening to see the Christmas lights. It looked very different in the daylight.
It wasn’t so much the expensive shops in beautiful old buildings. It was the people who walked up and down the street that made the place interesting.
I wish I had the guts to take out my phone and start snapping away.
Many were impeccably dressed. Men in beautifully tailored jackets. Women drenched in designer labels.
Spotted one man at the lights with perfect hair and orange rimmed sunglasses. He had a rust coloured jumper with a green stripe near the hem. Over the top he wore a well fitted navy coat.
He was saying goodbye to his lover. I saw them embrace and heard him tell his boyfriend how much he loved him as I crossed the street, passing them on the way.
I walked further up Regent Street in my oversized jacket remembering how pleased I was when I spotted it for about £30 at H&M in Wimbledon.
Then I saw her.
She was tall and slender in her black trench coat that was rolled up at the cuffs to reveal a tan jumper at her wrist. She was walking with purpose to get to the other side of the road. She wore black stockings and polished black ankle boots. At her neck was a scarf striped in bright block colours.
Her black hair was swept up to reveal a long slender neck and expensive looking earrings. I couldn’t help but turn my head to watch her pass. She looked like African royalty.
I checked the clock on my phone. Our son was going to be home from school soon. I wanted to spend more time people watching, but I knew I wanted to be there for him more.
So I came home.
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28 responses to “A London Walk On My Day Off”
[…] A London Walk on my Day Off […]
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Thank you so much for sharing your London day with us all! How lovely it must be to see such wonderful surroundings. I look forward to traveling one day soon. 🙂
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Hello there Julia. Thank you for stopping by! I enjoyed the day very much. I hope you get to travel soon too.
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I so enjoyed this walk around London. Next time be brave and get a few photos of people 🙂 🙂
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I’ll see if I can pluck up the courage! 😁
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I can remember being starry-eyed and walking around with my eyes on stalks, Aggie, but it was a long time ago. Becky suggested this for my Monday walks and I agree with her 🙂 🙂
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Thank you Jo! It was lovely to be able to get out of the house and spend some time just wandering around.
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Are things pretty much back to normal in London?
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It’s not completely back to normal but it’s getting there. We may even get to hug our friends in a couple of weeks!
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Wow. What a concept. I read your post and salivated at the thought of a ‘free’ day out and about. Here, our numbers are worse than ever. Our government has handled everything so poorly. Glad that you things are better over there. I know that you were all very hard hit for awhile. I’m sure the vaccinations have helped.
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I am so sorry to hear that Sue. I hope it will get better for you all soon. The vaccination roll out here has been incredible. They used technology very well. Made it really easy to book in our time, turn up and get the jab. And you could see the Covid death rates plummet soon after the roll out.
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Yes. My husband & I were just talking about this last night! Good for you guys.
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oh I love this – felt like I was walking with you. Brilliant post 😀
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Thank you Becky! The flowers at Leicester Square were so lovely I thought I’d throw in a bright square in there.
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perfect 🙂
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What a lovely day out observing the world! Lovely pictures as well.
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Hello there! Thank you 😊 I enjoyed the day very much.
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Wonderful walk, thanks for sharing your photos with us!
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No problems! It was a great day 😁
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That’s exactly my sort of day out. There are/were wonderful fabric shops in nearby Berwick Street into which I could fall like Alice into Wonderland.
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Sounds wonderful! I must check it out. I read another blogger who did a tea shop crawl around Covent Garden too. Looked awesome!
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A tea shop crawl would be perfect after all that fabric shopping!
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An excellent day and some great pictures to show for it.
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Thank you Susan! It was indeed a good day. 😁
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I LOVE people-watching (and eavesdropping, honestly)–especially people dressed to the nines! I have a feeling COVID has made most of us even more casual in our clothing choices. I love your style–and your boots!–and aspire to one day have a style of my own. Maybe by the time I’m 50?
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Haha! It was such a strange feeling watching these amazingly well turned out people today. So glad I wasn’t in my usual casual wear!
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How wonderful for you to have some time to enjoy the surroundings and do the things that make you happy.
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It was a lovely day. Thank you Regina!
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