EL ESPIRITU DE LA NAVIDAD {THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS}

1. November-December 2018 - London

1. Regent Street has long been renowned for its spectacular lights display during the festive season, as the first ever central London location to boast Christmas lights, which decorated the street in 1954. It´s a street I never miss if I travel to London at Christmas time. A sculptural masterpiece, the lights are inspired by Regent Street´s very first Christmas lights scheme, which featured traditional angels positioned as if playing trumpets, really gorgeous. Last years´ scheme is a dramatic and modern reimagining of those lights, featuring a fleet of impressively large-scale "spirits" that soar along the length of the street.

1. Oh this post is not about Christmas lights and all the wonderful things you can do when visiting London at Christmas, but writing about some of the places I hadn´t visited for 40 years, time flies!, but I´m sure I haven´t been there since that moment in my life. I don´t know how we got there then, probably some of the girls in my group wanted to go because this is not something you´ll find on any first timers guide to London. The best time of the year to visit this area would be spring or summer time, but also the most crowded one too. Our idea basically, well my idea, was to show my husband some areas of London he hadn´t visited and walk walk walk, and our expectations were fulfilled. But that day, we were blessed with reasonable weather and enjoyed the tranquility, fleeing the crazy center during these period of the year. London has much more to offer than the Big Ben and Oxford Street.

1. What to do in Little Venice London is a good question, but the first question for most people I´ve talked about it was What is Little Venice London?. Somebody told me once long ago that London is magic, vast and fascinating and that´s a fact.

1. Although not far from congested roads and the commuters streaming out of Paddington Station, Little Venice is an oasis of peace and tranquillity. Dozens of narrowboats, day trip boats, private houses and water cafés line this calm stretch where the Grand Union Canal meets the Regent´s Canal. To get there from Victoria which is where we were, (we never repeat hotel in London because we like to try different ones), we took bus number "16" until St. John´s Wood Road, which was practically our destination.

1. The small island is named Browning´s Island after poet Robert Browning, thought to be the first to name the area Little Venice.  More about Robert Browning in here

1. Some residential boat owners have developed canalside gardens to such an extent that it´s become a haven of pots and wisteria. The towpaths, alongside the canals, were a hectic mix of bicycles, skateboards and people. 

1. The light blue, wrought iron bridge, overlooking the area where the Grand Union and the Regents Canal meet is beautiful. The Grand Union canal runs for 220 kilometres north-north-west of Little Venice until it reaches Birmingham. Regents Canal is almost 14 kilometres long.

1. Around the canals there are many cafés and restaurants, it´s an area where there are many offices and studios so there are people in and out all the time. We were walking around aprox for one hour and then we took the Water bus that took us from Little Venice along the Regents Canal to Camden Lock travelling aproximately for 50 minutes that stops if you want to at London Zoo on the way.

1. The bus cost 9 pounds per person. There are also services for guests departing from inside London Zoo to Camden Lock or Little Venice. The area is immediately surrounded by some very fancy looking mansions, with incredible gardens. It´s hard not to peer through the fences as we pass.

1. Camden Town has been a residential area since the 1790s, but it was only the development of the Grand Union Canal and the improved railway transport that turned it into a bustling part of London. Today, visitors and locals gather here to hunt for treasures in Camden´s markets, listen to live music and sample cuisine from around the world.

1. And what could you possibly do in Camden Market?, well shopping. To anyone´s choice.

1. And there we took bus 168 to Elephant&Castle and then the 343 to Borough Market.

1. And what did we do in one of the most important Food markets in London, Borough Market?, well we had lunch there because we were already starving.

1. Borough Market has existed in one form or another for around 1000 years. It´s precise start date is impossible to pin down: there was no official opening, no ribbon-cutting ceremony, not even a brief mention in a chronicle.

1. As London´s oldest food market, it has been serving the people of Southwark (a district in Central London) for 1000 years, and that extraordinary heritage is an important part of its appeal. But let´s be clear here, this is not a museum piece, it is a dynamic, ever-changing institution; a participant in the debates around what we eat and where it comes from; a place where food is talked about almost as enthusiastically as it is consumed. I love this market really.

1. The market is awesome but the best of all and one of the things I like most is that none of the market´s rubbish goes to landfill. All cardboard, paper, plastic, glass or wood is recycled. 
2. Every single piece of packaging provided by the traders aims to be bio-degradable and compostable: bags, pots, plates, cups and every piece of cutlery. Market Life magazine is carbon neutral and produced on 100% recycled stock.

1. And after so much food, we were ready for our next route.

1. From Victoria in the Bus 148 all the way to Notting Hill Gate and from there, just walked towards the market.

1. We always visit London during the week and never stay over the weekend, so I had never gone back to Portobello since my student years. The truth is that Portobello is really several markets in one, Saturday being the day when all are in full swing. Then, you can experience one Km and a half of hustle, haggle, colour and energy, that´s one of the reasons to visit this market at the very early hours in the morning. The feature of Saturdays is the opening of hundreds of antique and specialist shops and stalls.

1. We ended our route around Portobello to walk towards Holland Park, more or less about 30' and taking a detour around Kensigton High Street to finally get to the park while admiring the gorgeous houses with those private gardens that made me remember that film we like so much, "Notting Hill".

1. Kensigton High Street is another paradise for shopping, it provides a great blend for fashion, food and high street shopping just a short walk from other important shopping centers.

1. And walking towards our next visit and enjoying the view, we arrived in Holland Park.

1. The history of Holland Park, one of the London´s finest green spaces, makes an interesting tale for history buffs and horticulturalists alike. The park surrounds a Jacobean mansion, Holland House, named after its second owner, the Earl of Holland, whose wife was the first person in England to successfully grow dahlias. In the 19th century, Holland House became a hub of political and literary activity, visited by Disraeli and Lord Byron amongst others, but was largely destroyed by bombs during WWII.

1. Besides going back to this park, I wanted to visit the new garden (at least for me), Kyoto Garden, a present from Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. Later, in 2012, the Fukushia Memorial was added to the Kyoto Garden to commemorate the heartfelt gratitude of the Japanese people to the British people for their support following the natural disaster that struck Fukushima, Japan on 11 March 2011.

1. The truth is that this is going to be one of the favourite parts of the park, it´s like a tiny pocket of Japan inside an English garden. The park itself is awesome and big and besides that day started with heavy rains, we were very lucky to be able to walk around without any occasional shower. I have to say that anytime I carry an umbrella with me, rain never falls.

1. With London so densely populated this little wonder invites you to relax, so if you´re on that day of running the London gauntlet and you need a recharge, arrive to Kyoto Garden which  offers the perfect place to relax.

1. London has a lot to offer and many things to be discovered. Of course we walked around Covent Garden, The strand, Chinatown, Piccadilly, Oxford Street, New Bond Street, Regent St., Piccadilly St. Carnaby St. Regent´s Park, Buckinham Palace, The Mall and more...To be continued in future trips.

1. And as I´m already on holidays, I want to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas, I´ll come back in January. I´m not in my new house yet and I have a lot to do. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYBODY AND I HOPE 2019 MAKES ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE. My tree this year was completely improvised, just some cardboard stars I cut myself and some shining stickers that P. and M. were deligted to stick, they loved to put up my tree after we were loaded with hot chocolate. Obviously the children had a blast.