Strolling Around Notting Hill & Tea Time at Sketch

Hi, guys!

I am still coughing and sniffing, my acupuncturist suggest 3 days bed rest so I'll be ready for the upcoming Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year. Which I will do while blogging on the bed obviously. But anyway, these set of photos are my second favourites right after my Dean's Village and Circus Lane photos. 

We went to Notting Hill on a Sunday to check out Portobello Market and had our lunch around the area. But honestly, my main reason to visit this neighbourhood is to see the rows of pastel houses with my very own eyes and I do have to say it did not disappoint. The weather was perfect for photo taking as well.

We took the tube and got out at Notting Hill station. After a few minutes of short walk, I noticed there were houses but not colourful ones so we actually roamed around before we stumbled upon these pastel houses. I was actually afraid that we weren't going to find it but fate was on our side and we did. You might need to go out a little bit from Portobello Market to find these houses. But I say, they were pretty easy to find.

I like the pastel coloured ones better since it matches my outfit but the other colours were cute too! The colour of the house is definitely a decision the owner made so I really appreciate that most of them decided to compliments each other; pastel next to another pastel colour while primary colour next to another primary colour. 

Later that day my husband and I had a reservation at Sketch for our very first British afternoon tea set. Again, I chose the place mainly because of the interiors. I literally died and went to pink heaven. Also, the egg alien bathroom was a nice surprise. I actually didn't know about that but it turns out to be very popular too!

We book our seat online via their website, you just choose Gallery - Afternoon Tea. We book about 2 weeks in advance and got the slot we wanted which was 4.30 PM. The afternoon tea set is 58 pound sterling and it's by no mean cheap, but while in London right? It's both our first time in the city so we decided to splurge a little. 

We were greeted very cheerfully by the concierge who took us to our seat. The place was packed so I wouldn't recommend a walk-in visit. Our waitress (is that the name?) was SO NICE. She could tell we were both a little bit overwhelmed by the tea choices and yet she was so patient despite me changing the tea a few times. Yes, you can change the tea flavour anytime you want. I don't remember the names of my teas, but they all tastes really good. Each person can order different flavour of tea. My husband was very much happy about that since he love mints and I hate it so all of his teas has some sort of mint in it. 

Did I also mentioned how cute the staff' uniform was? Well, they are all very well-dressed. Especially The Caviar Man with his pink suit. The food was okay I guess. Neither of us are fancy and it was our very first time eating caviar which tastes awful by the way, I hate it. I'm a simpleton what can I say. But all the sweet ones tastes great. The savoury ones were a little bit touch and go for me.

All in all, I had an amazing time there. You can sit as long as you want and the tea would just keep coming at you. The staff were all very friendly and helpful and kind and so efficient. I asked for a refill of a different tea flavour and I didn't have to wait for more than five minutes. I would definitely recommend people to have their afternoon tea here if they have a few pounds to spare. Altho I could safely say I wouldn't come back. It's waaayy to pricey for us and we prefer hawker's food, really. LOL.

Anyway, wishing everyone a great productive Monday!