Saturday morning Bear has a full English (breakfast) for starters.
Then a walk through classy, classic Chelsea over to Kings road, always busy on Saturdays.
Bear gazes into a trés British vet window with Staffordshire cats and fancy bronze bulldogs. Only in London.
I gaze into a fashion window to see what they are wearing. Not shown here but Hello, over-the-knee boots are in PBers!
At last we reach the weekly Saturday yummy Duke of York Square Market at 31 Kings Road. This is a don't-miss if you're visiting London in my opinion.
Loaded with artisan ready-to-eat on the spot exotic foods.
Of course there will always be fish n' chips
What are hobnuts? Maybe fresh hazelnuts? I taste a sample. Lots of available samples. Unlike French markets, you are not obliged to buy if you take a sample.
Get kissed by a chevre/goat.
Which gorgeous cake to buy? Hmm...
British cakes are definitely gorgeous and Huge. I'm waiting till I see everything before I decide.
Real doughnuts! You don't see these yet in Paris. They have em but they aren't the REAL thing.
Real cookies too. Don't know why exactly but the French have not figured out the cookie yet in my opinion. They all look underbaked. Hope no one French is reading this...ahem
What is this? Looks delish anyway.
This is a buy and eat right now market. Very unFrench but very fun. Almost no one is without a plastic fork in hand.
I finally decide on Maldon oysters. 6 for 6£
OMG These may be the best oysters I've eaten all year. Fresh and bright. Big too. An absolute Must-have!
Always stunning flower stalls in London. I just make my Eurostar by 5 minutes. They decided to close So.Kensington station and we all must shlep over to Gloucester Road station a so-called 7 minutes away. I'm deeply regretting my 2 kilo bag of Braeburn apples. Why can't I find a tart, crunchy apple in Paris? SOS if you know of one. Back in Paris, in a thrice on the all-new Eurostar train with wifi no less, I find Pont Marie lit up Kelly green and a jazz band playing by the Seine. Is it St. Pattie's Day? Give the French a reason to celebrate and they will run with it. C'est la vie. Thanks for reading Parisbreakfast!
How lovely to visit London!
ReplyDeleteHow lucky you are to have escaped the miserable pre-election US of A
love to you and Bear!
I am ready to get on a plane to London right now. But how do they eat all that cake and stay so slim? The picture of eaters defies reality!
ReplyDeleteWooh, am I sorry I missed out on the oysters! Hope you and bear come back to London soon, Carol xxxxx
ReplyDeleteso beautiful pictures ..
ReplyDeleteHow fun..that Union Jack fabric dog bone:)
ReplyDeleteA blogger I follow has Union Jack ballerina shoes♥
I must admit I love baking and cooking..but having a breakfast made for me is luxury..you get everything warm at the same time and..it's not All Bran and a greek yogurt;)
Those cakes! Nom nom nom...
ReplyDeleteYuuuummmmmyyyy! I think the Brits are very fond of CAKES. All the English TV shows I have watched always have cake with their tea. I have my homemade vegan chocolate cake waiting in the freezer right now for our oldest son to show up to hunt with his daddy. I froze it so I would stay out of it. I love to surprise him with cake! Thanks so much for sharing your adventure in London.
ReplyDeleteHow long does the journey take on the Eurostar? Is it creepy going through the chunnel?
Hi Caterina, I had to reply here as a Brit living in France! A piece of cake is a classic thing to have with a cup of tea at teatime, around 4pm. I grew up with this, nearly always it was a homemade fruit cake or sometimes a simple sponge. The tunnel by the way is great, I have used it many times, we drive and take the car through the tunnel on the train, it is so easy and beats the ferry any day!
DeleteCaterina, the trip takes slightly over 2 hours. You don't notice the tunnel especially at night of course. When they announced Gare du Nord I thought it must be Ashford, time went so fast.
DeleteI am torn here! I am British so I love London, but I have French ancestors and live in France, so I love France! I think I can appreciate the best of both. Who doesn't miss Fish and Chips and yes, British cakes are the best and cookies too! Cobnuts by the way are basically cultivated forms of the wild hazel. In the same way that you have lots of different types of apples, so you have cobnuts and hazelnuts. Here in our garden in France we have a long line of 50% hazels and 50% cobnuts!
ReplyDeleteThe cobnuts were delicate and quite nice. Thanks for explaining OFO. Do you have some nice crunchy apples I can come pick?
DeleteBritish apples...YUM!
I've never had a proper English breakfast so I have to ask: are those mushroom on the left side of the plate? Is that fried ham at the top, or another meat? And are those tomato slices warm? I think I could become a regular eater of the proper English breakfast - that plate looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteYes mushrooms on the plate. Plusrashers of bacon nd the tomatoes are heated. Beans were missing. The Club doesn't do them!? Aalso that was my friend Noriko's plate, not mine btw. I just had 2 boiled eggs and bacon with toast. No marmelade either ;((
DeleteOh How have I missed knowing about Kings Rd market. Too distracted by Portabello Rd. Next visit, it will be in my list. In the mean time I love travelling with you and bear Carol. M de L
ReplyDeleteIt aways amazes me how short the distances are in europe! And how large the changes from country to country!
ReplyDeleteHow grand to be able to do all this in a day! xo
ReplyDeleteNice to be able to visit vicariously...
ReplyDeleteI love the Duke of York Sq market. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteDitto, ditto. More manageable than Borough market and closer too.
DeleteWhat a great market in London!! Thank you for sharing it with us, need to go there next time. :)
ReplyDeleteSaw your comments about doughnuts. They ARE in Paris -- at Boneshaker (77 rue d'Aboukir 75002). Created and run by American Amanda Scott and her fab hubby Louis. You must go try their yummy doughnuts and meet them (they are the coolest couple).
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely delightful.
ReplyDeleteHi .bear.
Lovely lovely post. Greetings to dear Bear! So glad you two are enjoying London. xx, Patricia and Eric, Minneapolis MN
ReplyDeleteHi, Carol, Thank you for the fun day out. I must check that market out, especially for the real doughnuts and the oysters! They look yummy!
ReplyDeleteHi Carol,
ReplyDeleteI am writing you from Turkey and ı must confess that ı check out your blog everyday if you wrote something or not. In this post, in the marketplace you mentioned under a photo that you do not know that staff. It is called Lahmacun and it is from Turkish cuisine. If you are interested in this food. You may have some idea from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSztPNM2uho how to cook it. Of course if you are a vegeterian or on a special diet you may also try it with some goat or other type of cheese. Love your blog :) take care, Berşan
I'd like to have Bear's breakfast!
ReplyDeleteLove the food shots - and the pets :)
Great closing pic, too, Carol.