London Again - Questing for a Cardy, Dinosaurs and Benches

Dino with handbag - how cool is that?

Yesterday I went to London again, in pursuit of The Perfect Cardigan.  I already have any number of cardies, but have been lusting for a leaf green number for any amount of time now.  The colour I was after is the colour of new beech leaves in Spring, with the sun shining on them.  The most beautiful colour in the world, arguably.  My efforts were finally crowned with success in the Burlington Arcade, much to the chagrin of my wallet.  I tried to photograph the cardigan, but colours are difficult to capture and the result is unsatisfactory.  Suffice it to say that it is pretty close to the colour of new leaves, the shape is the basic boyfriend cardy, and it is single ply cashmere, perfect for Spring and Summer. 

 

I wore it this morning to my favourite café while having coffee & the newspapers and received several compliments on it.  Afterwards I went to a nearby cashmere store to check out the competition, and an excited Chinese tourist pointed at me and shouted to the shop assistant, ‘This is what I want, exactly this style and colour!’  The shop assistant gave an apologetic shrug; she was surrounded by numerous items of knitwear in a state of dishevelment, it looked as though the Chinese visitor had tried and rejected a great many pulls and cardies before spotting mine.  I left swiftly; I was not going to tell her where I cornered this elusive garment, after two years of research.  Hah!

 

Lest you think all I ever do is shopping and drinking coffee, let me tell you I also walked all over central London during my quest, snapping photos whenever I discovered anything interesting.

First and foremost, it must be said, were the dinosaurs in the Louis Vuitton shop display in New Bond Street.  Absolutely amazing!  I went in and had a long chat with them about the dinosaurs, sadly they couldn’t tell me much about the cause for this sudden takeover by fossils of their flagship store.

 

Another interesting sight, and of particular interest to MDL, who loves benches, is Berkeley Square – I have never seen so many benches in one park.  There are more benches than trees, more benches almost than grass.  I stood there flabbergasted for ten minutes, mutely staring at the plethora of seating accommodation, until I finally pulled myself together and took a few pictures.  Notice the benches in the background?

 

 

 

I also came across a few interesting green spots in the area.  One day I shall do a special on window boxes, they have some absolutely stunning ones downtown London.

 

Yes they still exist!  Tradesmen's Entrance ....

 

After all these exertions I spent a good few hours drinking coffee, eating twiglets, and reading six different newspapers at my Club.  Happy days!  To finish off the day I met a friend at a Pain Quotidian and ate two different types of cake, after which feat I was completely exhausted.  In my younger days I thought nothing of eating four or five pieces of cake in one sitting, and now just two pieces leave me stuffed to the gills and feeling guiltily gluttonous.  Hic transit gloria mundi!