We were a bit slower getting started in the morning after a busy day of travel and the speed run through Oxford.

We decided to skip the hotel breakfast and headed for EL&N in Covent Garden for breakfast. I think they are primarily known for their baked goods – which did not disappoint. I had Honey Toast – brioche with honey and berries. Rick had the Brown Sugar and Sesame Pancake with mascarpone. We both felt very pleased with our choices.

After a quick stop in the room we headed off, opting to take the Tube to our first destination, Belgravia. and surrounds. We went to Ecclestone Yards first; it was mostly restaurants (just waking up) and gyms (very busy). Not exactly what we were looking for. I did enjoy the recurring dog motif.

Things started to get interesting when we arrived at Elizabeth Street. Our first sight was Peggy Porschen’s cafe. It was beautiful. As was everything that came out of it. I had some pink lemonade and a pumpkin chai cupcake. Rick had a smoothie. I loved the vibe and the pink colour reminded me so much of my childhood bedroom.

We were really there to check out Jo Loves flagship store. I was expecting something quite grand. It was a relatively small space, simply decorated with the scents as the focal point.

I wanted to get something lovely for myself. Everything I sniffed was wonderful (well, except for the patchouli, we never really got along). I was overwhelmed quite quickly. One of the women working there was very helpful. She asked me 2 or 3 questions and that seemed to be enough. Here first suggestion was a rose and lime fragrance. The lime was very fresh and presented first, the rose was more enduring. As much as I love rose it can be a bit overpowering so that was a pass.

Her next suggestion was Flower Market 42 and that was it. She got it on the second try. I was impressed and happy. She carefully wrapped it up, put it in a bag, with a few samples, and tied it all beautifully with a red ribbon. I don’t imagine a happier person has walked out of that shop for some time.

We continued down Elizabeth, looking in windows and feeling a bit shocked that the prices.

Eventually we took a left onto Motcomb. A small shop with some beautifully beaded dresses caught me eye. I stopped to take a look and chatted with one of the young women working there. She was trying on a beautiful beaded top and convinced me to come in to have a closer look.

The dresses were stunning, all hand embroidered and beaded and weight about 10 lbs each (maybe more). I have included a picture of my favourite one – which I did not try on in spite of their encouragement. Thast particular dress 3500 GBP (~ $7000). They do offer a 10% discount for first time buyers.

Although the dresses were true works of art, I have no red carpet appearances planned any time soon; I thought it best to extricate myself as quickly as possible. Feel free to check out cliopeppiatt on Instragram if you are curious.

There were so many beautiful building ans sights along the way. I have included a few photos here, but I eventually just stopped taking photos at all. There is no particular order. I did find that I really liked a lot of the pub signs and at some point they could warrant their very own section.

We had reservations for tea at The Wolseley. at 4:15. I had heard if we were going to have only one high tea while in England. this was the place. We were slowly making our way there, though likely to arrive far too early when good fortune struck. While crossing the street near Hyde Park Rick spotted the Wellington Arch. He went to have sa closer look and noticed a statue of Wellington on horseback.

The arch originally had a significantly statue of Wellington installed on the top in 1846, almost 20 years after the arch was completed. When the arch was relocated for road widening in 1883, the too large statue was moved to Aldershot and a new statue of a four horse chariot carrying the angel of peace replaced it in 1912. Then this smaller Wellington statue was placed in the park.

It was near the statue that we tripped on a map that showed Apsley House, Wellington’s London home. It was located directly across the street from where we were standing. On the spur of the moment, we decided to go have a look. It was surprising and informative and frankly wonderful. Note that I am not particularly familiar with famous historical battles… but Rick is!

In the main entrance there are multiple paintings of Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington as well as paintings and marble busts of the military commanders, allies and statesmen that fought with him during the Napoleonic Wars.

Arthur Wellesley was born in Ireland. He had an awkward and lonely childhood, showing none of the potential and promise of his siblings. His passion was for playing the violin and he demonstrated no leadership potential. Like his older siblings, he was educated at Eton where he showed no particular success in academics or athletics.

Believing Arthur unfit for anything else, his mother moved the family to Brussels and sent Arthur to the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, France. He was very successful, there proving to be a great horseman and growing in confidence. In 1787, Arthur’s brother helped the 17 year old secure his first military commission as an ensign at the British Army. This marked the beginning of a successful military career that would broadly impact European history.

Arthur rose rapidly through the military ranks through the commission purchase system. He basically bought his way to Lieutenant-Colonel by the time he was 24, placing him in a position of high command at an unusually young age. He served in India for 6 years where he learned much about the path to military victory: logistics, supply lines and bullock carts. It was this philosophy that allowed him to outlast the French.

Arthur was appointed to lead the British forces against Napolean’s armies in Portugal and Spain. He never lost a battle and ultimately defeated Napolean. It was around this time that he became the 1st Duke of Wellington

Napolean and Wellington faced each other directly only once, at the Battle of Waterloo June 18, 1815. Wellington won the battle. The war officially ended in November that same year. Napolean was exiled to St. Helena.

Wellington had a true love for art and his Apsley home wass filled with room after room of beautiful paintings and sculpture. He particulalry admired the Dutch and Flemish masters (Steen, Reubens and Van Dyke among them), but also had pieces by Goya and Vlasquez, British Portraitists (Laurence and Wilkie) and Italian masters (Titian and Correggio.) Wellington knew every piece the name and artist of every piece of art in his possession and did not require a catalogue to keep track.

Included in his many sculptures was an 11 foot tall statue of Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker. Originally commissioned by Napolean himself, he ultimately rejected it for being too athletically built and too… nude.

I enjoyed the entire Wellington Museum immensely; probably evident in the amount of information I have shared here. I really had to make myself stop. I didn’t even mention his wife and children, or mistresses, stories for another day

One interesting piece of trivia I must mention. The first “wellies” were leather boots commissioned by Wellington. He did not favour the tassels on the typical military boots, finding the new boots more utilitarian and comfortable for riding. These boots became the new fashion, worn by more and more members of the military.

The rubber boots version of these boots were first produced in the 1850s. Ultimately made by Hunter, they were made en mass for the first time in WWI to prevent trench foot.

Our next stop was High Tea at The Wolseley. The restaurant was huge with very high ceilings. Conversation, clinking silverware and a large staff of deferential waiters contributed to a huge cacophony of sound.

We both opted for the full tea service which was very generous in quantity as well as delicious. This would be our pre-theatre dinner. Unable to eat all of it, we came away with a box of goodies for future snacking.

There was a single woman sitting next to us. She was from Colorado and had come to The Wolseley for tea on several previous occasions and was a big fan. We chatted about her passion as a bee-keeper, touched lightly on politics (so difficult to avoid these days) and chatted about our various travel experiences. It was quite a nice encounter.

Looking more closely at these photos I realize how challenging it was to get any really good ones. However, you do get the feeling of the scope of the space and the activity of the room.

We managed to walk back to our room and for a brief 30 minute break before heading out again to our first London play, Titanique at The Criterion Theatre. I knew very little about the production beyond two things: it was a musical comedy and the subject was the sinking of the Titanic. The rest unfolded in due course.

The theatre itself was not particularly grand, as London theatres go. Upon entering the main doors we made a hard right turn and descended into the basement. Neither the upstairs lobby, the downstairs bar, or the staircase connecting them was relly special. and the spaces were all quite small. If this had been New York, I am fairly certain we would have been “off Broadway”.

We were seated in the stalls, 3 rows from the front so were very close to the action.

There is something freeing about waiting for a show to start when you really don’t know what to expect. I booked the tickets because it had been highly rated and was described as a version of James Cameron’s Titanic movie. The story was partly told through some of Celine Dion’s biggest hits songs. Although their use was never officially approved, her team gave the Titanique creators the go ahead.

What we quickly discovered was how truly funny it was, overflowing with double entendres, definitely designed for a mixed audience. The actress who played Celine Dion, Astrid Harris, was hammed up perfection with her vocal style, french accent, and moves.

Myra Dubois, a well-known female impersonator, played Rose’s mother; and her camp style almost stole the show. She clearly could not keep to the script, tossing out very funny (sometimes shocking) one liners that broke up the audience, as well as members of the cast. She broke the barrier between the show and audience and it really worked. The normal run time of two hours was exceeded by several minutes, in no small part due to a very funny Myra. I have not laughed that hard in a very long time. (I should probably think about that a bit….)

I loved the role of “The Iceberg”, played to perfection as Tina Turner.

I have a few photos from their closing number – the only part we were allowed to photograph or record.

It was a super fun night. We chattered about it walking back to the hotel and stayed up quite late looking up members of the cast and cruising videos. If you want to see more, I encourage you to look it up on YouTube where there are several videos with excerpts. It will be a fun way for you to finish your day.