Today was another day we woke up without a plan.

So we made one.

London weather – I don’t know how to explain it; the last couple of days we have awoken to high 30 degrees F, today the air is chilly yet the sky was a stunning blue and fiercely warm – you want to take off your jacket and put it on all at the same time. We made a point to walk on the sunny side of the street. It got up to 62 today. But we have zero complaints about this shoulder season, not a lick of rain the entire week.

One thing I love about staying in Notting Hill is the constant presence of children. When we were headed to the Tube this morning they were all arriving at school (the Chepstow House School) and when we returning to the flat they were making their way home. Adorable red sweaters and black overcoats, their school crest on the chest. So adorable.

We decided we should go see the Churchill War Rooms. Good seats still available. We got on the Circle line, changed to the Jubilee and got off at Westminster. When we popped out of the Underground this site was staring at us.

We walked past Downing Street which is all gated off.

When a guard opened the gate I took a pic in hopes of getting Number 10 from where we are standing.

Missed it by ‘that’ much.

British politics are not bean bag. When we were walking down King James Street a guy in a suit was yelling at someone going into the offices; probably a Labor guy yelling at a Conservative guy, or vice versa.

We had a few minutes before out 10 AM entry so we walked over to the St. James Park. The pelicans were out sunning themselves in the pond.

Pelicans in London?

Pelicans have lived in St. James Park since 1664 when the Russian Ambassador gifted them to Charles II, recall he ruled during the Great Fire. Currently, there is a flock of six Great White Pelicans—named Isla, Tiffany, Gargi, Sun, Moon, and Star.

It’s a nice park.

The War Rooms Museum is pretty special. It is the very place from which the British ran their war plan. The Blitz was the German bombing campaign that terrorized London from 7 September 1940 to 16 May 1941 and killed 43,000 people. It represented no real strategic plan to destroy the British Industrial complex, it was just plain mean, and an attempt to break their spirit.

It did not.

When the Blitz began, Churchill moved his entire war council and all of his military leaders to the basement of this government building. To guard against the 250 pound bombs the Germans were dropping, he had the ceiling reinforced and had the floor above completely filled with 3 meters of concrete, they called it The Slab. They even poured it down the stairwells. After the war when they wanted to create some openings, it took them 3 weeks to drill through this wall.

When the war ended they sealed up the entire war center and when they reopened them some 40 years later they were exactly as were left and seen today.

This famous portrait was down there. Photographer Yousif Karsh talked about how he got it:

“Then I stepped toward him and, without premeditation, but ever so respectfully, I said, ‘Forgive me, sir,’ and plucked the cigar out of his mouth. By the time I got back to my camera, he looked so belligerent he could have devoured me. It was at that instant that I took the photograph.”

The fate of England rested on his broad shoulders for over two years until America came to the rescue of all of Europe.

We decided to fit in one more place so we headed for Marylebone. This is a nice little neighborhood with pretty homes, tree-lined streets, multiple green spaces and quaint shops.

And The Wallace Collection

Sir Richard Wallace was the 24th richest man in the UK in 1873. Paris bred, he had a keen eye for art and he bought for other rich people as well as himself. He also inherited his father’s collection. His widow donated his home and his entire collection the the UK government. I have seen fantastic private collections in the Borghese Gallery in Rome and the Isabella Stuart Gardner museum in Boston, but Wallace takes the cake.

I saw a Titian, many Peter Paul Rubens, a couple Rembrandts, the list goes on.

And I knew you were wondering – yes! He is the very same Wallace who donated 70 drinking fountains to the city of Paris so people could have clean drinking water after the Siege of Paris. For his efforts he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. They are referred to as Wallace Fountains.

From here we headed to High Street in Marylebone to see what all the fuss is about. It is lovely little business district with bespoke boutiques and plenty of cafes and bakeries. We stopped for coffee in one.

We headed back to the flat as Michele was anxious to start packing. In the early evening we had one last meal booked at The Ladbroke Arms. The food was delicious. I had another British dish I can check off, beef pie.

And lastly, I thought the 3rd time’s the charm and ordered another sticky toffee pudding. This one was the absolute bomb.

So that’s it; Michele just finished up the packing and we have a car booked to pick us up at some unholy hour to come home.

Out time here is filled with wonderful experiences and memories, getting together with friends, exploring new places and understanding better how our closest ally commutes and plays. London is a great big beautiful city and we are the better for visiting it.

And our short affair with Notting Hill will always be the smile on our face that no one will understand.

With love from London,

Michele & Tom