Betty Blythe And Blizzards

Today was spent with my lovely friend Raquel and her brother Michael, who is over here from Germany. Despite the freezing temperatures ( we are getting -3 in London and -20 in Scotland and the North!) we met up for tea and cakes. We visited a delightful tea shop in West London, Brook Green called Betty Blythe. It has a beautiful 1920's interior and tea is served in the most delicate, floral teacups. Raquel and I shared a delicious carrot cake with cheese frosting, Michael had one all to himself. We sat downstairs, on charming round tables with the most beautiful settings. The hot choclate I ordered was delicious, with lovely vanilla overtones. To add to the whole 1920's ambience, accessories are available in a beautiful dresser. We played dress up with long beaded necklaces, flapper girl headwear and tiaras. We made Michael wear a feather hat (pics coming. Lenka, when you visit London, we have to go!
After that we headed over to Westfields shopping centre, which is supposed to rival the big malls in the U.S. However,it gets a thumbs down from me. I love U.S shopping malls, they are infinitley better in every way. Hence we didn't stay long and made our way to Notting Hill. We walked past the house which George Orwell once lived, author of 1984 and Animal Farm. The houses are exquisite, pastel pinks,blues, greens and yellows. A terrible wind was picking up, and it was beginning to feel very icy. However, we carried on, making our way along the famous Portabello market. Portabello Market is vintage heaven, as well as a hub for cutting edge design. Antiques galore and some of the best restaurants in London. Inspired by Betty Blythe, Raquel bought a beautiful handpainted china cup and saucer. We decided that she simply had to have a cupcake to go with it, so we queued for a while in Hummingird bakery, which makes the most exquisite cupcakes. Raquel is a petite half Kenyan, half Italian beauty, she can get away with it!
We exited the bakery to be confronted with a real life blizzard. How ironic, as I was saying to Debbie, that I have never been in a real life blizzard. As sharp flakes of ice flew in out faces, we all got the giggles and made our way back to the car. Goodbye George Orwell, goodbye Betty Blythe, goodbye Hummingird, we had a lovely day, now it's time to go home.