Have you heard of the Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli?No? Me neither.But after seeing the current exhibition showcasing her work at the V&A in London, I’m wondering why the hell not? Yes, she was before our time, but so was her contemporary and rival, Coco Chanel. Was Schiaparelli overshadowed by Chanel? Or does history only have…
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Where in the world is Paula? Well, I’ve been spending most of my time in London, especially at the Victoria and Albert Museum – specifically, in the cafe and gift shop. Opened in 1852, the Victoria and Albert Museum was named after the couple who conceived and established it, Queen Victoria and her beloved husband,…
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Remember how I told you flight attendants get to know cities one bite at a time? Well, make that one pint at a time.A while back, a few of my flying partners went on a pub tour in London. They had such a good time that they bought the book and have continued the tour…
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Speaking of Paris, there’s a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London called Marie Antoinette Style. Yes, please. Naively, I thought the exhibition would feel like a walk through Marie Antoinette’s closet. In a way, it is. These were the kinds of dresses she would have worn. She’s even credited with some…
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I’m sorry, but I can’t simply gloss over The Tower of London. It deserves an entire blog. The Tower of London is a UNESCO World Heritage site and an absolute must if you visit London. It is number one on my top 10 list. The Tower was commissioned in 1078 by William the Conqueror. It…
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Why London in October? Because I got invited. Now, Reader, I don’t give much life advice because I don’t have much figured out. However, one thing I have done my entire adult life is keep an emergency travel fund. You never know when you may need to bolt from a bad roommate situation or a…
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Yep, you read that right. In this blog, we’re not taking tea in a fancy dining room but rather down in a thousand-year-old crypt. Novel. Londoners love tea. And, apparently, Londoners love church, judging by the city’s staggering number of churches. There are 47 churches within London’s square mile. And a few of them offer…
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Welcome back, tea enthusiasts. And London enthusiasts. And gin enthusiast? My High-Tea Crawl through London continues. However, in this blog, we’re not sipping tea in a stuffy tea room but rather onboard a double-decker bus. And not just any old double-decker bus, but a retrofitted, vintage one. Oh yeah, and we’re not sipping tea. In my search for high…
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Tea at Hotel Cafe Royal (the second stop on my afternoon tea crawl through London) is a very opulent affair. Unlike Fortnum and Mason’s bright and airy tearoom, Cafe Royals’ tearoom is dark and heavy, dripping in gold and velvet. Walking in feels like stepping into a jewelry box. And I felt a bit like…
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I don’t mean to brag, but I was on the “non-traveling” tennis team in high school. The “non-traveling” members of the team were so far down the roster that our matches didn’t count, and therefore, our attendance was not required. Because my experience with tennis lies in the distant past and is less than spectacular,…
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