Long before we left on this trip, neighbors told us we had picked the best week to visit London as it was the week of the famous Chelsea Flower Show. It is held for 5 days in May and is attended by the Royal Family. We checked into getting tickets but they were £97 each so we put it off our trip planning radar. (I mean, I'm not that into gardening!) What we later learned is that yes, you need tickets to go to the flower show...but there is also something called "Chelsea in Bloom" which happens at the same time, but is free...no tickets required. In the Chelsea neighborhood, more than 125 shops, restaurants, and pubs decorate profusely and create a floral dreamscape (which is later judged and prizes given). Each year there is a theme to Chelsea in Bloom...this year's theme is "Out of this World" so the floral installations are inspired by space travel and astrology. There are also some large scale installations commissioned by a property development firm that produces this event.
Surprise, we were not the only people checking this out today! In fact the Sloan Square Underground stop had opened al the exit gates (where you usually "tap out" to pay)...there were just too many people exiting for the few turnstiles to handle! That should have been our clue as to how crowded this was going to be certainly made worse by the fact that this is also the Underground stop for those attending the actual Chelsea Flower Show - and those ladies were all dressed up in their lovely floral print dresses! The streets were crowded with spectators. Here are just a few of the gorgeous displays at Chelsea in Bloom...unfortunately it was really hard to get photos without a bunch of other tourists in them!
This is one of the publicly commissioned pieces...I love the aliens made of eucalyptus leaves. It kind of reminded me of the Rose Bowl Parade and how they use natural things in such a creative way when making the parade floats.
This was my favorite...a rocket ship built out of pots and pans, in front of a fancy cookware store! So creative!
I loved the creativity of using sea shells and succulents!
This was, appropriately, outside the Oliver Peoples eyeglass store.
Another one of the public displays, not affiliated with any one store.
Love the Venus flytrap! It reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors!
This is hard to see in the photo...but the fish are half inside the store, and half outside. Another very creative display. Quite a few were zodiac themed.
Next on the agenda - Gary has been wanting to get his hair cut for about a week now, so after seeing all the gorgeous floral displays we headed out in search of a barber. We ended up in Covent Garden at Copains, a fabulous gluten free bakery we have gone to in Paris...who knew they had a shop in London! After buying all kinds of GF goodies we walked down the street and found a Turkish barber!
He's looking a little nervous...
haircut completed...then the barber waxed his ears! (Gary says Omar back in the Rossmoor Barber Shop needs to up his game!)
a lean-forward hair wash after the cut and wax to remove all those pesky little cut hairs...
hot towel wrap on the face...Gary thought the barber was going to shave him, but no...
It was just to open his pores so he could then be doused with Turkish lemon cologne! I got doused too...the barber came to me and told me to put my hands out at which point he poured a very generous amount of this into my hands and told me to rub it on my neck and arms..."very refreshing...you will like!" (It did smell good so we ended up buying a small bottle!!).
And gents, if you have never gone to a Turkish barber...Gary highly recommends it1
He looks pretty pleased with his haircut and waxing!
Just look at those ears...smooth as a baby's butt!!
Now off for cocktails, dinner, and the theater (more about the play later!)
Love the floral displays. We looked for you at the Chelsea Flower Show but only caught Charles and Camilla. Yours looked like a better time! Ear waxing could be the next big thing in Rossmoor! Cheerio!
ReplyDeleteLOVE those flower displays! Right up this scifi fan's alley. The iphone 16 and later phones have a clean-up button that allow the user to remove all those pesky things that get in the way of your picture. I use it often. Never heard of ear waxing. How did he prevent the wax from going in to the ear canal? Seems like the visit was to a mini spa, instead just a barber. I'm impressed. Gary does look refreshed after his visit!- lmk
ReplyDeleteRich had his ears waxed in turkey and I heard him scream about 2 blocks away. Haha. Gary looks great.
ReplyDeleteThese flower displays were every bit as clever as th RoseBowl Parade which I just love watching every year. I think my fave was the cow jumping over the moon! All good.👏🙂
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