Richoux & Regent Street

Saturday, November 27th
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Although my alarm was set for 9 am, it was about 10 that I actually woke up and pulled myself out of bed. This morning we finally had hot water, so taking a shower was a luxury compared to my experiences in the past three days.  Around 11 I received a call from Molly, who had just woken up along with her mom.  We decided we would meet at the Grosvenor at noon and start our day from there.  Lauren and I made our way to Hyde Park Corner and down Park Lane until we reached the hotel.  After meeting Molly and her mom, we walked back to the tube and headed to Leicester Square in hopes of finding somewhat inexpensive tickets for a show that night.  We started at the booths right inside the station, but unfortunately every show we asked about was either completely sold out or their seats were extremely pricey.  Apparently with the holiday crowds starting to pick up, tickets are very difficult to find...hopefully I'll be able to see my last few shows within the next two weeks!  After weighing our options, we decided we could certainly find something else to do tonight and made our way to Piccadilly Circus.  We had decided that Molly needed to experience afternoon tea while in England, so we settled on Richoux, my mom's favorite tea spot.  There are three locations throughout the city, but we settled on the Piccadilly location as it's closest to the best shopping!  The restaurant is beautifully decorated, with floral fabric walls and dark furnishings, and from the first looks at the delicious pastries in the display cases we knew this would be a good place.  Despite a bit of a wait, we enjoyed a lovely lunch together.  While I ordered the traditional afternoon tea, Molly had a simple cream tea (scones and tea), while Mrs. Riazzi and Lauren opted for pasta dishes.  Everything was delicious; it was the perfect way to warm us up on this chilly day!
After lunch, we walked back down Piccadilly past Fortnum & Mason (Mom, you would love the windows!) and popped into Waterstones bookstore so Mrs. Riazzi could purchase some reading material for her plane ride on Monday.  By the time we were done there, we were all exhausted already (we're going to blame the cold on this one).  Molly and Mrs. Riazzi decided they would return to the hotel for a rest, while Lauren and I headed towards Regent Street.  Today both Regent and Oxford Streets were closed to traffic to allow visitors easier shopping.  The place was absolutely packed; parents and their children were everywhere, while various street performers and promotional people were handing out vouchers and balloons to passers by.  We even got to enjoy a little Jersey Boys on one of the big screens on the street! :) Lauren was very patient and helped me do some of my Christmas shopping, but eventually we parted ways as I had a few places on Oxford Street I still wanted to visit.  When my arms became sufficiently weighed down by shopping bags (my giant Crabtree shopping bag broke completely), I hopped in a cab back to Courtfield.
A few hours later, I headed back to the Grosvenor, where I met Molly and Mrs. Riazzi for dinner.  We were planning on trying an Italian place in Marleybone that the concierge had recommended, but we ended up down the street at giraffe (l'Entrecôte was actually right next door, which would have been extremely tempting if the line was not curved around the street!).  The dinner was absolutely delicious; I'm glad I got to show them one of my favorite places!  After dinner, we decided to go to the Rose & Crown, a pub only a few minutes' walk from their hotel.  We chatted and enjoyed some cider before it was closing time, and after saying goodbye parted ways for the night.  Upon my arrival at Courtfield, I popped some Tylenol PM and called it a night.  Tomorrow is Molly and Mrs. Riazzi's last day here in London so we want to make the most of it!
    xo Carolyn