Tuesday

Nailing the Neighbourhood

The other night, Notting Hill was on TV and watching it after all this time really made me fall in love with my neighbourhood.

I live in Queensway which is right opposite Kensington Gardens, (one of the entrances of Hyde Park), a few minutes away from Notting Hill Gate (infamous for the film and the carnival that takes place in August every year), and is only a short stroll away from Portobello Market. The other side of Queensway lives Bayswater and Westbourne Grove where you will find the the posh, the rich, and the yummy mummy's dressed casually in head-to-toe designer labels, shopping their morning's away.They're also known as ladies of luxury and are pretty fricking fabu.

The attitude is very relaxed in this part of London and a big part of that might be because of Portobello Market. The market is filled with antique, clothing, fruit, veg, and jewellery stalls. There are also little restaurants, cafe's, vintage and designer good stores that make up the rest of Portobello. It is my favourite part of London just because it possesses the coolest vibe!

Our little adventure started off at the top of Notting Hill Gate where we headed to Gelato Mio for some of their to-die-for delicious Italiano ice creams.


















I love love love Gelato Mio and spend most of my summer evening's there. They have the most authentic flavoured ice cream and they're all written in Italian which I love. Plus they do a peanut butter ice cream which is kind of unbeatable in my eyes! They also serve cookies, croissants or cake if that is more your thing. The service is always amazing and their desserts are mouth wateringly good so please visit if you're ever in Portobello or Holland Park.


Amazing little blue house in the middle of Portobello! How cute?!


How much do you love a secret garden?!


Always love to see police on horses in the middle of a city..






Pretty pastel coloured houses.. I LOVE!





Going to convince Alex to purchase this dapper outfit because it is adorable!


Need to make this typewriter and yellow bike mine!!


Next up, we obviously had to stop at Hummingbird Bakery because I am obsessed with cupcakes. So obsessed that I even have them tattooed on me, (it looks a lot nicer than it sounds!) We initally stopped by just to get a red-velvet each, but their flavours looked too awesome to not try so we left with a box of 6. They're also doing a 'special' flavour called 'American Brunch' and being the adventerous person that I am, I had to try it. Keeping with the American Brunch theme, it obviously has pancake batter, bacon and maple syrup all mixed in. Yes, you did read that correctly - BACON. Sounds awkward to me too but I was sold on the name alone so bought one for the road.















The very last place we stopped at was The Grocer on Elgin. I first heard of this beaut of a place at my last workplace where the designer I worked for absolutely adored this place. We had a company meeting once and instead of buying the usual Marks and Spencer specially catered for meetings food platters, we stopped by here instead and bought dozens of their salads and sandwiches. They really were amazing tasting and the smells that waft out of this place are incredible. I'd be surprised if you don't automatically get drawn in from the smell alone!








We each had a 'slice' of pizza each which was so so good as a fast snack! Lastly, it was time to brave the American Brunch cupcake as dessert.



Yes, those are actual bacon pieces inside this cupcake..


Contemplating how I feel about this..


The Verdict: NO. It is most definitely a no, no, no! It just does not work for me! (but then again, I do eat like a small child sometimes so maybe my tastebuds have just not developed enough for me to appreciate this!)

We kept walking to digest the feast we had just indulged in and found even more beautiful spots around the neighbourhood.









Basically, I adore London. I adore London even more in the sun. And I LOVE this area of London so so much - Hope you can see this through the photographic evidence! 

Come say hi when and if you ever visit! xoxo

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