London in the Spring - Weekend Part II: Marylebone Farmer's Market, Harrod's, Hyde Park, Tea at Palm Court, Regent's Park

If you thought my Saturday was packed, my Sunday was actually really pretty busy too!  And with a lot of time spent outdoors, which was just perfect, because it turned out to be yet another beautiful day.  It just so happened that Sunday was the day of the London marathon, but we didn't go see any part of it.

We kicked off the morning with a breakfast at a little gastropub near our hotel, The Grazing Goat.  I had a really tasty set of baked eggs with a slightly spicy, mostly sweet tomato sauce.  The we strolled to the Marylebone Farmer's Market (but not before stopping at Neal's Yard, a store I like immensely for their very natural, high-organic content products).  Marylebone is possibly my favorite neighborhood in London - this is where Michael and I stayed last time we came.

The farmer's market was small but fun.  Something about fruits and vegetables laid out on a table really gets me excited; I don't know why.

There were also baked goods and foods served.

It looked like it was apples season...

and oysters season...

These sausages smelled amaaaaazing.

There were so many varieties of potatoes!

Fish of all colors and shapes...

Coffee...

Mushrooms and eggs of all kinds and varieties.  I loved the similar colors of the two.

After that, we popped over to Harrod's, the iconic department store, for my friend to find a jacket.  I headed from there through Hyde Park, the Serpentine Path, back to our hotel.

That famous green awning!

As I keep repeating, it was a glorious day.  The amazing thing about London's parks, is how wide and open and expansive they feel.  Parisian and New York parks are arguably just as lovely, but they always feel at least three times as crowded.  I don't know how the Brits do it.  In one of the largest and oldest cities of the world, they have amazing, venerable open space that manages to make you feel like you're on a bucolic estate.  You go from the streets in the pictures above, to this:

It's magic.

Before long, it was time to get dressed and head to the Langham for high tea at the Palm Court, one of the most traditional and fancy places for tea in London.

 

 The room was quiet and it seemed there were a few birthday parties going on.  I noticed that they gave every little kid a big, plushy teddy bear, which was sweet.

 

 

Of all the food, I liked the scones with cream and jam the best.  They were so yummy...the sandwiches I found a little dry and boring (though the smoked salmon with cream cheese on a cracker was delicious).  

After all of that food, we decided to walk toward Regent's Park, which I consider the jewel in the city's crown.

 From there, we ended up near Marylebone High Street again, where my friend picked up a pair of shoes and I picked up a perfume from diptyque that I am madly in love with (it's called do son and it has orange flower, iris and rose with tuberose, other white floweres and musk).

And there you have it!  An action packed weekend of fun and adventure.  I walked over 17,000 steps on each day that weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed all of it.