{"id":692,"date":"2017-07-05T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T13:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/05\/retail-therapy-in-swinging-london-lunch-at-zizzi-and-dinner-at-hare-and-tortoise\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:59:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:59:48","slug":"retail-therapy-in-swinging-london-lunch-at-zizzi-and-dinner-at-hare-and-tortoise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochellesroost.com\/index.php\/2017\/07\/05\/retail-therapy-in-swinging-london-lunch-at-zizzi-and-dinner-at-hare-and-tortoise\/","title":{"rendered":"Retail Therapy in Swinging London, Lunch at Zizzi and Dinner at Hare and Tortoise"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nSaturday July 1, 2017<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nRetail Therapy in Swinging London and Lunch with a
\nFriend:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span><\/span><\/b>We saved our last complete day in the UK for a spot of
\nretail therapy. In actual fact, our itinerary had indicated that we were to
\ntravel to Sussex to see the homes of the Stevens sisters who became Virginia
\nWoolf and Vanessa Bell in Lewes. However, to have stuck to that plan of action
\nwould have meant no time at all to grab the few items on our shopping lists.
\nAirline regulations now make it well-night impossible for us to do the kind of
\nshopping we did in the years gone by. Both Shahnaz and I were concerned about
\nbeing overweight and about being unable to haul our suitcases on our own.
\nHence, we stuck to basics. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\nIt
\nwas my idea to shop on the King\u2019s Road in Chelsea which is much less crowded and
\nhas a far more snazzy clientele<\/i> than
\nOxford Street. But I was also trying to squeeze in a lunch appointment with a
\nfamily friend named Bande Hasan and since he is more familiar with eateries on
\nOxford Street rather than in Chelsea, that was where we ended up heading. We
\nmade the appointment to meet for lunch at 1.00 pm at Zizzi<\/i> and with that plan in mind, did much of our packing (to
\ndetermine how much space and weight allowance we had for our goodies) and set
\nout at about 11.00 am for a bout of retail therapy.  <\/span>We took the bus from Battersea to Oxford
\nCircus and, as systematically as possible, began our shopping.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>As most shoppers know, the month of July sees the entire
\ncommercial side of the UK get into Sale Mode. This does not happen in the US;
\nbut in the UK, this is a bi-annual affair (the other big sale occurs in the
\nmonth of December). Every single store in the country had sections devoted to
\ncut prices and it was at Clarks where we attempted to buy shoes, that we began.
\nI found the shops I wanted in no time at all and after converting US sizes to
\nBritish ones, I paid for a new pair of black patent leather work shoes and was
\noff. I left Shahnaz still shopping for shoes and left. <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>This time I hurried off to Liberty of London to take a
\nlook at the fragrance counter where Byredo has a range with which I am not
\nfamiliar. The helpful sales personnel there introduced me to their new lines
\nand plied me with a ton of samples\u2014an unexpected bonus. I left Liberty and
\nrushed off to Boots where I bought my supply of nail polish and face creams for
\nthe next year. Then, without further ado, I crossed the street and went to
\nSelfridges where I acquired some more perfume samples! <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\nThere
\nwas only time left to get to the main entrance to meet my friend and Llew\u2019s
\nformer colleague, Mr. Hasan, with whom I then walked to the back of Selfridges
\nto Zizzi<\/i>, the Italian chain that
\noffers really delectable food. I settled for their King Prawn Linguine (which
\nmy companion also ordered) studded with chilli flakes, chilli oil and zucchini.
\nIt was wonderful. For desert, I had the Chocolate and Pistachio Sundae which
\nconsisted of dark chocolate and pistachio gelato served in a conical coupe with
\nshaved white chocolate and chocolate sauce. You had to have tasted it to know
\nhow really superb it was! Our lunch was a brilliant chance to chat about this
\nand that, to catch up with family news on both sides and to talk about coming
\nplans for the summer and the rest of the year. It is always a pleasure to see
\nmy friend and spend time with him and I do value our friendship.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\nAfter
\nlunch, I walked with my friend to the Waitrose on Edgeware Road where I bought
\nthe vast selection of packeted soups that I usually carry with me back to the
\nUS. I got my free coffee (which is always a thrill), picked up my free issue of
\ntheir July Food<\/i> magazine and then
\nladen with all my shopping, I tried to reach Shahnaz by phone. We met again at
\nthe Marks and Spencer flagship store where I spent a great deal of time trying
\non trousers to finally find a pair in black that I needed. Shahnaz, meanwhile,
\nwas across the street in Primark and it was there that I met her. We ended up
\npicking up a few items of clothing to take back as gifts. I was really weighed
\ndown by this point and ready to get home, but Shahnaz was still shopping until
\nalmost 8.00 pm. Eventually, we took a bus from Marble Arch and got back to
\nBattersea.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nDinner at Hare
\nand Tortoise<\/i> at Russel Square:<\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\n            <\/span>I never leave the UK, if I can help it, without having
\none meal at the Hare and Tortoise<\/i>\u2014and
\nthat one meal is always the very same thing: I have the Curry Laksa.  <\/span>This Singaporean-Malaysian Soup comes with
\nchicken, shrimp and other goodies in a curried coconut milk soup swimming
\nthickly with rice noodles. It is truly a meal in a gigantic bowl\u2014in fact, two
\nmeals, as I have never managed to eat my entire portion and have always asked
\nfor a doggie bag. Shahnaz chose to have the Seafood Ramen which was full of
\nfish and shell fish in a fish broth. While at the meal, we entered into a
\nconversation with the lady at the next table who happened to be of Indian
\nPunjabi origin and was thrilled to meet Indian women from India who could speak
\nvolubly about Indian affairs. We shared a bottle of Japanese beer and kept
\nconversation flowing as this was our last night together. I would be leaving
\nthe next afternoon and we were sorry to reach the end of our travels together.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n            <\/span>When we were done with dinner, we took the Tube from
\nRussel Square to Victoria where we connected to a bus and reached home in time
\nto get ready for bed. We were both very glad that we had devoted an entire day
\nto shopping as it ended up taking much longer than we expected. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\n             Until tomorrow, cheerio.     <\/span>      <\/span>      <\/span> <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday July 1, 2017 Retail Therapy in Swinging London and Lunch with a Friend:             We saved our last complete day in the UK for a spot of retail therapy. In actual fact, our itinerary had indicated that we were to travel to Sussex to see the homes of the Stevens sisters who became Virginia… <\/p>\n

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