The Magic of Chelsea

Day one in London and I had a couple of errands that I had to do – the normal banking headache... by 12:00 noon everything was done and I had the whole day ahead of me to explore Chelsea.

Chelsea was home to King Charles II’s love nest where he visited his mistress using the farmer’s track hence the name “King’s Road”. So I walked around the royal lover’s street and couldn’t wipe that silly smirk off my face. The streets had a positive vibe with many shops decorated with tennis balls in support of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

Right in the middle of the street was a sign for Chelsea Arts Festival – one more day to go for those who are interested.

But what caught my attention is my fascination with fire stations – which goes all the way back to my days in Paris and the lovely Sapeurs-Pompiers in the Cartier Latin district. Unfortunately, there were no firemen to be seen but it did add a little sparkle to my day.

On the way back home, I had to taste the local beer – there was absolutely nothing local about either pubs selection. In Trafalgar Bar http://ultimatepubguide.com/pubs/info.phtml?pub_id=82 I tried a blond beer from Belgium and have to say it was too sweet for my liking, but the location of the bar was central and gave me a great view of commuters and people walking by. Then Went to “The Cadogan Arms” Bar http://www.thecadoganarmschelsea.com/, where the staff where amazingly friendly – the French waitress was very pleasant in answering my question and the bartender cracked a couple of jokes and lent me his lighter. There is an upstairs pool area (as in billiard) which I chose not to explore, but the overall crowd was nice – though as a beer drinker I felt I had only the traditional boring choice of either Heineken or Amstel.

And of course there was nothing better to end a night after drinking two beers then a taste of Lebanese cuisine – so I indulged myself with some over priced dinner – though it was beyond delicious and the staff were very friendly. Maroush has a great selection of authentic Tabouleh (not the overly onioned ones that you get in the other so called Lebanese restaurants in London).

And with a filled stomach I walked back home ... Chelsea is a cosmopolitan area that has something for everyone who is not on a tight budget.