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You don't have to cross the channel to dress like a Parisienne. If you're in London and pining for some Parisian style, no need to trouble yourself with an aller-retour on the Eurostar. Just hop on the Tube and head over to W11. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road in the heart of Notting Hill is a quiet, walkable, boutique-lined little oasis where you can stroll around, window shop, and spend your cash at top Gallic boutiques that congregate in the area. Even if you're just in the mood for a window-shop and a coffee, Westbourne Grove is a nice place to meander on a sunny afternoon. Make that a beer, and you just may be able to almost convince yourself you're in the Marais. Except that the English-speaking French girls mining these fashion houses are smiling and friendly in a way they'd never think to be on native soil.
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The British government has decided to sacrifice air quality standards for the sake of allowing an additional 60,000 flights per year into Heathrow Airport. "Ministers are planning to ask the European commission for a special deal to exempt the capital from official limits on exposure to pollutants." [The Times]
We've already sent you to some of London's best design shops for the home. Here's a list of top design destinations and events for the design junkie in search of modern inspiration and historical perspective. After the jump: 400 years of English interiors at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, the newest work of international design stars at the Design Museum along the Thames, and London's only antiques, vintage, and retro department store.
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Allwyn Rondeau was the Heathrow employee who sued Lucy Chilton, a security guard at the London airport, after she harassed him for being gay by "wobb[ling] her breasts" at him and asking him to "come on, give it to [her]." Ew, the term wobbling is so gross. Chilton has been found guilty and faces a fine of up to 30,000 pounds for personal injury. [via]
I'm feeling a little out of sorts today, so I've decided to just post whatever I'm in the mood to blog about. Obviously, I've used this as an excuse to write up odes to some of the finest women in the world. No day of posting international hottie photos would be complete without acknowledging the Princess of Monaco, Charlotte Casiraghi. No less an authority on pretty women than Chanel's Karl Lagerfeld (who, regardless of his personal preferences, is constantly surrounded by gorgeous models) once likened Princess Charlotte to the famous French sex kitten Brigitte Bardot. Her movie star looks are to be expected, since Charlotte's grandmother is none other than Grace Kelly. In addition to her royal pedigree, killer tan, and piercing grey eyes, the 21-year-old Princess is also in possession of her own island off the Sardinian coast, which is a good thing because she looks damn good in a bikini.
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Self-styled boho hipsters, trustafarians, Portobello Road tourists of the world, and fannypack fans of the eponymous movie make Notting Hill a sought-after London destination. This trendster ghetto is a pretty fun place to hang out, with more than enough shopping, restaurants, cafes, and the like to keep you more than amused. If you need a place to sleep, check out this list of Notting Hill digs under £150 a night, including a casually chic b&b in a Victorian mansion, an eccentric 18th-century guest house whose rooms are named after the romantic poets, and a budget address smack on Portobello Road starting at £55 a night.
A London hotel is introducing a new service for guests that's one of the odder we've heard about. For two weeks starting this Monday, Hyatt's Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel will host "Reader in Residence," which means "writer Damian Barr, 31, will read to guests or talk literature with them. "The service is free, and no books are off-limits — even racy ones." But don't think Barr is the type to let things get out of hand. "If somebody was perhaps responding to the reading in a way that was inappropriate, I would try to stay in the safe confines of my armchair...and hotel security is always on standby." [USA Today]
When you're on the road, worrying about reading maps, the horrible exchange rate, and not getting caught in an unforeseen tourist trap can cause you to leave your progressive habits at home. If you are one of those people who likes to eat, shop, and otherwise consume in an organic-when-possible manner, there's no reason to throw your conviction to the wind in London, where organic options abound. Here is a sampling of London's best, from a delicious dinner spot to a new eco lifestyle store from actor Colin Firth to a beauty treatment that involves the application of organic bull sperm to your very own scalp. For more information on how to stay organic in London, go here.
Would you pay $100 for a cup of coffee? What if it was made with cat poo? Peter Jones, who is in charge of the in-store coffee shop at Sloane Square in central London, will soon be selling a 50-£ cup of joe. The blend is a mix of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans and Kupi Luwak — beans from Indonesia that have first passed through the alimentary canal of a palm civet, a cat-like marsupial. In the process the beans become deliciously, er, musky . Proceeds from this very special coffee will go to a cancer charity. [via]
Big Ben, the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, is Britain's favorite landmark, according to a recent survey that polled more than 2,000 adults. Second was Stonehenge — other favorites included Blackpool Tower, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and Edinburgh Castle. [The Times]
The 2008 Beijing Olympics are still four months away, but they've already started with a bang. Activists who oppose China's occupation of Tibet have been holding huge protests as the Olympic torch makes its customary pre-games lap around the globe. In the past week, the torch toured Paris and London with an entourage of local policemen and Chinese security personnel. In spite of all the guards, protesters forced the torch to be extinguished for the first time in modern Olympic history. If you want to get in on all of the "Free Tibet" fun, the Olympic torch will be stopping in fourteen more cities between tomorrow and April 29th. The good people at Google have made a map showing all of the remaining cities along the torch's route. The tour includes such exciting destinations as San Francisco, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and the hometown of everyone's favorite despot — Pyongyang!
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Ask for a pillow and you're asking for a prostitute
That's just one of the many tricks (so to speak) of the five star hotel concierge trade, says reporter Matt Rudd. After spending a day working at the luxurious Jumeirah Carlton Tower, whose rooms run up to 5,000 pounds, Rudd learns quite a few others: namely, how to read a map upside down and the perfect "time-buying phrase: 'Certainly, sir, I'll look into that and call you straight back.'" [The Times]
There are so many, oh so many magazines out there; yet most newsagents, and even W.H. Smith, with its floor to ceiling shelves groaning with millions of magazines, catering to everyone from cat lovers to PC lovers, only stock a tiny percentage of them. When it comes to fashion magazines, if you don't want to buy Grazia or Vogue, you need to know where to go, even in very central London. Mapped here are some of the best in the very center of town, where the selection is international and broad. There's nothing better than losing yourself for a few hours flicking through obscure foreign fashion publications; all in the name of research (or maybe that's just me). Feel free to add to the list via the comments.
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