London, episode 20. In which London tis in my memory lock'd.

I begin this final installment of my sentimental London journey with a visit to a location brand new to us although it has been open since 1980. There is always something new to discover in an ever-expanding city like London and a visit to Covent Garden this past June was in order (and on our itinerary). We have a vibrant young couple from Dubai to thank for capturing our souvenir photograph at the florally festive market entrance.

Covent Garden is a centrally located shopping center offering visitors a great place to meet, shop, eat, and enjoy regularly scheduled crafts and antiques markets.

Unfortunately for this pair of road-weary fleamarket travelers, we were unable to plan a layover that coincided with the regularly scheduled Monday antiques market day, but Mari and I enjoyed an afternoon admiring the handiwork of local crafters in the Apple Market. The jewelry, artwork, photography, and crafts were evidence of the enthusiastic creativity of the people of London.

We did time our midweek visit, however, to coincide with Londoners' favorite midday pastime and were thrilled to come across the Whittard of Chelsea Tea Bar on the lower level of the market building.

A seemingly endless variety of beautifully fragrant and neatly displayed teas greets you as you wind your way through the cafe to your cozy table.


There's simply something about afternoon tea that makes my day. It's not just the scones, sandwiches, and (in my case) carrot cake, either.


Ask Mari and she'll be the first to tell you I make a mean cucumber sandwich (my secret is jalapeno cream cheese) and tender raisin scone (thanks again to Tea Time), but I think it's the warmth of the tea and the perfume it spreads throughout your entire body as you savor each sip that is the lasting and restorative appeal of tea.


You can't rush tea. And you can't use a mug, either. You don't need to have a collection of tea accoutrement or a cabinet in which to display such recollected fleamarketed finds, but making the time to savor a seemingly simple sip of herbaceously fragrant tea is one of life's great pleasures.

The occasional
slice of carrot cake
don't hurt, either.

Explore the fastidiously well-organized site to plan your own visit and to sign up for an informative newsletter.
coventgarden.london


While our most recent London layover also failed to coincide with the bustling Saturday antiques marketplace on Portobello Road, we found quite a bustle midweek as well. Aside from sidewalk and street vendors, there are many old and new shops along Portobello Road whose exterior quaint coziness belies the actual depth of collectible density barely browsable inside.

It is practically impossible to turn around without knocking something over, so be on the alert!

A final London souvenir and tea collectible found its way into the remaining space in my backpack.

I think we probably have enough forks at home to feed the neighborhood, but my collector's gaze was immediately drawn to this beautifully displayed set of Sheffield dessert forks. Truth is I would have bought them if they hadn't been stamped and if they hadn't been displayed in the satin-lined box. Like our miniature "Michigan spoons" purchased a few years ago at a bucolic yard sale, our "tea forks" have become a fast favorite. The slightly wider tine on the left edge is perfect for breaking the surface of a frosted tea time treat and securing said delicate bite while it travels its sacrificial journey to my waiting palate.

Mari and I marked another first off our London travel list with a visit to the historic and legendary Selfridges department store. The original location on Oxford Street rivals any major department store not only with its size, but with its impressively intricate architecture. Whether you are a fan of the PBS series about the origins of this revolutionary century-old institution and the colorful American entrepreneur behind the name or just want to spend some time browsing in the beautiful Beaux-Arts buiding, Selfridges is a must.

I was especially thrilled to find a book department upstairs that was well-stocked with new and familiar titles as well as local favorites. I was also happy to spend time in the stationery department where I found a nice variety of pens to browse. Books and pens?! Thank you, Mr. Selfridge! The food hall on the lower level was also an inviting place for a pair of foodie travelers in need of some shopping sustenance and to plan our souvenir shopping strategy.

If you visit the site, you will not only find information to plan your own shopping visit, but you will be able to shop from the comfort of your cozy armchair as well.
selfridges.com/US/en

The final day of our London layover was also spent exploring another location new to us and one which appropriately closes my London blog series which began, if you recall, with reminisced memories of 1981's royal wedding and my sentimental attachment to Lady Diana Spencer who became not only a princess, but a leader and role model for countless admirers the world over.

Subsequent visits to London yielded a visit to the historic site of the 20-year-old's royal wedding to Prince Charles at St. Paul's Cathedral and also to Westminster Abbey where the Princess of Wales was buried just 16 years later. With our most recent visit in June, however, Mari and I celebrated a beautiful early summer afternoon walking through Hyde Park to visit the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain. Open now for over ten years, the memorial fittingly embraces the welcoming and nurturing spirit of a woman I have long admired.

The freely flowing fountain invites relaxation and reflection. On our weekday visit, we found families enjoying the summer sun while children and adults alike waded through the curved fountain paths winding their way along a cleverly designed oval path.

Often, checking off a location on a travel list or sticking a pin in our travel map comes with great pleasure and even pride, but sometimes a simple act of remembrance can bring with it even more longing and inspire future travels. Savoring Shakespeare's sage wisdom from the conclusion of The Tempest, I chose not to burden my remembrances, but was happy to conclude this summer's travels with a bright and sunny afternoon of quiet reflection at this very peaceful site in the midst of a busy world capital.
royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/memorials,-fountains-and-statues/diana-memorial-fountain

I'd like to extend my moment of reflection to give thanks to my always adventurous and ever-supportive travel companion. I love this photo of Mari wading the gentle waters of the memorial fountain. I love her smile and the way the gently cool waters have left their mark on her jeans. The photo (and the stories behind it) are gentle reminders of why I love to travel.

We're spreading the love, exchanging cameras, and fleamarketing in Reykjavik next time.

London, episode 18. In which Mari learns some colorful Portuguese.

Words cannot describe how suspensefully and nervously excited I had been those five years between our first visit to London until our first day of Olympics action on August 5, 2012. I find it also difficult to describe how thrilled and relieved Mari and I both were to find one of our favorite cities so beautifully on display for the world.

I don't just mean the gorgeous city and its fanciful juxtaposition of centuries-old monuments and technologically glamorous industry. I'm referring to the beauty of the people of the United Kingdom and their wonderfully welcoming energy, their exuberant enthusiasm, and (especially for me) their outstanding organization.

What we all see neatly packaged on the small screen in our comfortable homes is the result of years of hard work and incredible organization that even a fastidiously amateur travel guru must admire with all his heart.

Thank you, gracias, e obrigado, London.

Pictured above is one of the daily travel cards both Mari and I received with our CoSport event ticket purchases. A full-zone travel card was issued with each event ticket to keep visitors moving smoothly throughout London as we made our way to sporting venues throughout the city. One less thing to worry about and an efficient way to speed things along. For hoarder-collectors like yours truly it also makes a colorful souvenir slash future-scrapbook-memento.  

Back to the very serious business of fleamarketing. Before using our final travel cards to head out to Wembley Stadium, Mari and I were busily browsing and chatting up the street vendors on Portobello Road. While Mari loves browsing vintage and unique jewelry (that's jewellery for our British friends), I am a big fan of what has been colorfully coined as Asiana by collectors. I blame my first snuff bottle for turning an eclectic mix of colorful, historic, and easy-to-pack collectibles into a favorite collection. I'll confess that the impetus behind our themed guest bath remodel nearly 10 years ago was to expand the display space for my eclectic collection that was still in its nascent stages.

Much of my collected Asiana is at home on glass shelves in a two by five foot lighted display that was magically recessed (by a very clever and handily-talented handyman) into the wall opposite the sink in which my ever-expanding (as I get older) morning rituals are performed to a disco beat.

Pictured are a few items I've temporarily plucked for a quick photo shoot. At top are two carved stamps made from very bright and opalescent stones. They are deeply and richly carved on the bottom with symbols which will appear when inked on a stamp pad (remember those?). The one on the left is a four-inch tall obelisk filled with columns of writing on the three sides not pictured.

On the right, is a three-inch tall oval stamp with similar writing meticulously (its meaning mysterious to me) illuminating both sides.

On the bottom is my Portobello pick for that Saturday, our first visit to the bustling market of antiques vendors on the street. While not a stamp like the others (picked on two separate occasions at New York's defunct Antiques Garage) the two-inch stone immediately caught my collector's gaze through its delicately carved cameo-like layers, seemingly glowing when I first picked it up from the young street vendor that morning. It now hums its gentle glow on the small glass shelf where it has been recollected with delicately carved siblings I have selectively gathered during our travels.

In other words, like my beloved Charlie Brown,

I got a rock.

The day is at hand, alas, for us to leave our London2012 journey in the well-storied past.

Before we move on, however, I wanted to share a final look back to that exciting and very busy Saturday.

Mari and I managed this selfie just as the soccer final was about to begin. Little did we know that our end zone seats would prove to be among the best vantage points for the action that day.

Those of you following me on FaceBook have the option of viewing two video compilations I put together from my two-hour-plus iMovie home movie.

The first is mostly our Saturday soccer game experience which includes a brief sampling of some of the more colorful commentary shouted by a trio of Brazilian fans seated a few rows above us. It appeared to be two brothers or best friends and a tween son who didn't seem to mind his father's and uncle's exuberance.

Although Portuguese is my mother tongue, I was hard-pressed to translate for Mari some of the more colorful expressions, particularly through my constant bouts with uncontrollable giggles whenever the Brazilian boys' unrestrained passion erupted behind us.

It certainly didn't help that Mexico scored its first goal before even the first minute of the game had elapsed.

I was just about to stow my video camera when a mad scramble downfield caught everyone's barely-focused attention and I managed to record that crazy and decisive moment.

Unfortunately, the formidable and (perhaps) overly aggressive Brazilian Olympic team never recovered from that opening goal by Mexico. My own delicate nature has barely since recovered from the relentless barrage of vehemently shouted scorn from a few rows back!

Despite leaving the enjoyably memorable game before the medal ceremony, Mari and I did experience one final ceremony that evening at Earls Court where Brazil would defeat Team USA in women's volleyball.

The second video compilation you will find on my FaceBook post (October 22, 2017 blog link) is a brief recording Mari and I made while we watched the preparations for the volleyball medal ceremony. We reflect on our overall experience while giving you a view of just how much effort is involved in putting together such an event.

The behind-the-scenes experiences we had at the London Olympics were new glimpses for us into otherwise familiar spectator spectacles. As I've attempted to convey, dear reader, since I began this Olympics journey with you, experiencing the Games in person had been a dream of mine since childhood. A combination of pride, nationalism, sentiment (always sentiment), and a festering travel bug made this trip-of-a-lifetime a reality.

I am ever thankful for every divinely amazing circumstance that supports my festering travel bug and for the wondrously supportive Mari who always manages to locate our smiles in every selfie (even without a stupid selfie stick).

We return to London for a quick layover next time.

For those of you not members of the FaceBook community,

you may find my video compilations on YouTube.

youtu.be/ZgN5TufQRCc

youtu.be/nmxOvCazeRw

London, episode 17. In which I'm just a boy, standing in front of a book shop.

It occurred to me while looking back through my travel photos and scrapbooks (and envelopes stuffed with scrapbooks-yet-to-be) that I haven't shared much about UK fleamarkets in this here fleamarketing travel blog. Sorry about that, but our first two London visits were full of wide-eyed sightseeing as you might expect and just a little souvenir shopping.

After that first Spring Break trip in 2007, when our appetite was whetted for a return visit, I made it a point to inscribe "Portobello Road" on our future London itinerary. Like Paris' Les Puces de Saint Ouen, London's Portobello Road Antiques Market is legendary and after our first visit during London2012, we found it to be legendarily overwhelming.

We managed a visit (finally!) to London's famed Portobello Road in Notting Hill on our last day at London2012. It was Saturday, the final full day of action, with the (impossible-to-secure-tickets) Closing Ceremony the following evening. Mari and I had a full agenda including back-to-too-close-back afternoon and evening events.

At top, I am posing my best Hugh Grant (sans floppy hair) on our most recent outing. I don't think I need to explain how much Mari and I enjoy Grant's and Julia Roberts' little movie. Whenever we begin to grow nostalgic over our favorite city or suddenly crave a quick glimpse of some favorite London locales, in goes the DVD of that oft-watched 1999 rom-com gem to assuage our longings.

Next, I am sporting my favorite shirt (yet again) on the morning of August 11, 2012. We were just getting started on our inaugural browse down Portobello Road along with a few (hundred) out-of-towners when we decided to commemorate the occasion with a selfie.

On that first visit Mari and I spent most of our time simply trying to navigate the thronged thoroughfare which was barely passable. Saturdays are the busiest days on Portobello Road, with all shops, stalls, and street vendors open for business.

There also happened to be a few (hundred thousand) extra visitors in town on that particular Saturday.

We spent most of our limited time with the street vendors, but Mari did make her way into an overwhelmingly overflowing jewelry shop glistening with a bounty of baubles and a trove of trinkets. As you round that first corner onto the start of Portobello from Pembridge Road, you will find Mari's favorite shop glistening its finest enticements through full-length glass display windows.

Several additions to Mari's Leah Stein pin collection have found their way from this corner shop to a lovingly curated collection on daily display in our home.

These two photographed pins are Portobello picks.

Ever the cat lover, Mari adopted the feline pin immediately during our Olympics Saturday visit. Intensified through the celluloid from which the pin is sculpted, its rich black color emerges as sharp and as intense as those eyes that remind me so much of the first pet Mari and I shared, our beautifully silky black tabby who lived with us nearly 12 years. I don't need to see this pin to remind myself of the loving memories I have of Pelona, but I do love gazing at it.

The cicada pin may not stimulate similar sentiment, but Stein's elegant interpretation of the familiar insect is equally luminous in its simply textured architecture.

We'll come back to Portobello again next time when I share a few picks of my own (and maybe another collection to add to the growing list), but let's get back to the main events of that Saturday.

When you purchase tickets up to 16 months in advance of an Olympics event, you don't know who you will be there to support. Although there are always favorites in any sport, the competitors are not decided until after the Olympic Games are underway, of course, so there really is no way of knowing if your favorite athlete, team, or country will be represented at your ticketed event.

Among my favorite souvenirs of any of our trips are the colorful tickets (still awaiting scrapbooking) pictured at left. I am forever grateful that they were never torn, punched, or otherwise marked by ticket takers at the venues.



These were the final two event tickets for our London2012 trip. I think the colors, artwork, and graphics are a standout collaboration and the tickets themselves, of course, have far greater sentimental value than the marked prices. I wanted you especially to notice the start times at the top of each ticket and how these times are only three and a half hours apart. Notice now the locations under each sport: North-west London and West London.

What the heck was I thinking?!

Despite leaving the men's football (soccer) final before the medal ceremony, Mari and I only made it to our seats at Earls Court after the US women had built up a considerable lead in the first game of what would eventually become a four-game loss against the formidable come-from-behind Brazil team. While I have no strategic advice for the disappointed US volleyball team, I can offer any future Olympic Games tourists some simple planning advice: don't overplan. Don't overschedule and definitely do schedule events far enough apart so that you have plenty of time to comfortably travel between venues. A careful study of the detailed events schedule on the CoSport website and a realistic look at a local map are an essential part of your planning strategy.

Our two Category B tickets (Category A being the most exclu$ive of the four available categories) were for Saturday afternoon's highly-anticipated men's football final, which had been fashioning itself from very early on into an unforgettable battle between heavily-favored Brazil and the very aggressive Mexican underdog. With both Mexican and Brazilian roots between the two of us, Mari and I were brimming with anticipation as we tubed towards Wembley Stadium after a quick fish and chips lunch following our massively mobbed morning of fleamarketing.

Before I forget, The Fish House in Notting Hill is most definitely worth a visit for shopping sustenance and to enjoy an excellent interpretation of a touristy local favorite.

fishhouse-nottinghill.com

I'll wrap up our London2012 experience next time as I share the excitement (but not so much the colorful Portuguese commentary) of the men's football final at Wembley.