You have to read that to the tune of London Calling . . .

At the invitation of a dear friend, I am spending the weekend on an impromptu visit to London. Believe it or not, this is my first time here and I was excited at the prospect of a hop across the pond. I spent most of my day yesterday traveling and, with the time difference, by the time I arrived in London it was nearly nine. We had dinner at a wonderful little French restaurant around the corner from our hotel in Mayfair and then had a cocktail in the hotel lounge. My perfect Manhattan was just that – perfect.

We were up early this morning and went for a walk in Hyde Park. Londoners are big runners and there were lots of people out in the park early. Bicycles too. As we came across Serpentine Pond, a girl in a pink shirt wearing pink roller skates was getting out of a pink car. It was a wonderful site to behold and I wondered what The Sartorialist might think. Alas, I was too embarrassed to ask her to pose, but I took this photo of the car:

As we walked around to the other side of the park, we came across the Queen Elizabeth Gates, which I found quite stunning.

The Queen Mother Gates – officially known as the ‘Queen Elizabeth Gate’ – lead into The Carriage Road in Hyde Park from Park Lane and are located to the rear of Apsley House at Hyde Park Corner.

The Queen Mother Gates where opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 6 July 1993. They where built by money raised by a number of benefactors and public donors under the patronage of HRH Prince Michael of Kent to honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The six gates, railings and lamps are made from forged stainless steel and bronze to designs by the noted metal artist / sculptor Giusseppe Lund. The design of the gates is meant to span the styles of the 20th Century with a formal and symetrical lower section which evolves into an organic freedom at the top.

This image came from the web:

The gate is unique because it is made of forged of stainless steel and bronze. All of the coloring for the gate came from heat and natural oxides instead of paint, relying on the characteristics of the metals to achieve the desired natural coloring.

I took this detail with my iPhone:

The day is beautiful – sunny and just the right temperature for wandering around. I wandered right into Alexander McQueen (sigh) and Vivienne Westwood. So many beautiful things that wanted to come home with me. Would that my wallet were fatter! I did get a tee at Vivienne Westwood and, if I’m lucky, I may end up with an early birthday gift of a pair of awesome buckled flats – imagine the offspring of her pirate boots and a pair of ballet slippers.

Speaking of ballet slippers, my Bloch ballet flats have been serving me well. The most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had on my feet and after an entire day of tramping all over town I feel I could be dancing.

While my friend was taking a meeting, I went into Harrod’s. Well, it’s London, you have to do that, right? I HATED it!!!!! Way too many people and all of the merchandise was stuff that you can find on Newbury Street. I got my claustrophobic self right out of there and walked back to the hotel.

I’m going to dive into a glass of wine and my new book. Tonight is dinner at a great Indian restaurant. Details and more photos tomorrow!