Adventures in London

I had my exam yesterday morning, which meant an early start and getting the train into London. It was the first time I'd been through Reading station since they opened the new bridge, so it was quite exciting for me to see what it was like.

It's all very modern and interesting. But I have to say, I much prefer the character of all the old stations I went through while I was in London.

Left - Liverpool Street Station
Right - top - Notting Hill Gate tube station (circle line)
bottom - Paddington Station

My exam was done by 1pm, which left me several hours in which to jet about the city on the tube and visit lots of shops.

First on my list was Loop, in the Islington area of London. It took me ages to find it, as although Camden Passage itself was easy to spot, there is so much going on around you that you don't look at every shop window as you pass, and the first time I walked past it I was looking opposite at the antique stalls! But I found it eventually, and had a good old nose around inside.

Ikea-style cubby holes, every yarn store's friend!

Seeing all those lovely skeins tucked away in their cubby holes reminded me of Imagiknit in San Fransisco, especially as there were a lot of the same brands here that I found in America (like Malabrigo, MadTosh etc). One thing Loop stocks, though, that no other yarn store in the UK does, is Wollmeise.

At £30 a skein though, I decided I didn't need any more just at the moment. It was tough, as some of those colours are AMAZING.

I didn't leave empty handed though.

I couldn't resist the PINK

Another Zauberball, this time a Crazy pink one. No idea what it will become, but either socks or a shawl/scarf would be fine with me! The silvery-grey is a merino-silk blend sport weight yarn that is oh so soft and smooth and such a wonderful steel grey colour. This is going to be a scarf and it is going to be lovely.

mmmmm grey

Once I was done with Loop, I hopped back on the tube and made my way over to Oxford Street. I wanted to have a nose around our John Lewis branch there, and hopefully find some new slippers in one of the many shops along that road. I was suitably impressed with the size and showiness of the John Lewis, but didn't think the haberdashery department had much more going for it than the one in the John Lewis here in Reading. I also failed utterly to find slippers, anywhere. It's very frustrating as the ones I bought in Asda earlier in the year are falling apart and I really can't do without slippers now it's getting colder in the evenings.

I did get to do a bit of touristy sight-seeing though, as I've never been to Oxford Street before!

Selfridges

Marble Arch