Day Four

It was so exciting to meet my friend from blog world, Kristina. She lives in Teddington and came in to meet me at the B&B. After happy hello's and an exchange of book gifts we set off on a stroll to Persephone Books. It was so wonderful to finally be amongst these fantastic books and as I stood there soaking up the surroundings, Kristina set about gathering the books on my list. I bought seven titles, a postcard featuring the shop and a package of watercolour postcards featuring scenes of Bloomsbury. The shop assistant kindly placed my books in a Persephone book bag as a free gift! It was over all too soon but Kristina and I would be back in a few days for the book chat to discuss Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple. After walking back to the B&B to drop off my book bag of treasures we took the tube to Marylebone to visit some shops on the High Street. Window boxes are absolutely everywhere in London! I would love to suggest that they be mandatory in my city, so beautiful!

Emma Bridgewater was a fun, not to mention colourful, shop and I purchased a tea towel for a friend. It says 'Happiness is a cup of tea, a magazine and a bar of chocolate'. I couldn't agree more!

Daunt Books was a gem and is, as described on the internet, an original Edwardian bookshop. It was full of literary works, they go light on the commercial fiction, making this a notch above your local Waterstones. I couldn't resist picking up Stella Gibbons, Nightingale Wood, just reading the synopsis brings a huge smile to your face and the promise of a terrific read.

Kristina took me out to lunch, we had a lovely chat over baguette sandwiches and salad. It's amazing to me that with all the people on the internet I became friends with someone so far away and here we were having lunch together in London! After walking around a bit more we parted ways with plans to meet up again in a few days and I headed back to my room for a cup of tea and a rest. Later on, I rode the tube to Piccadilly Circus to purchase a couple of shirts for R from Lillywhites. They carry sports clothing and I had my eye on a Tiger Woods golf shirt. Once the dinner hour approached I made for the hustle bustle of Leicester Square. There's a pub called the Bear and Staff and upstairs finds you in a quaint dining room. They carry sausages by the people that supply Fortnum and Mason and they are delicious, I have been wanting more of these since my last trip. So a very English dinner of sausage and mash and by 8:30 pm I was knackered as they say. With the Evening Standard under my arm I made my way back to my room to send emails home and write in my journal about another lovely day.