30 Before 30

LONDON Chapter 3 - Pieces of Silver

DESTINATION The Tate Modern, London

INSPIRATION Minnie Driver sends me to teatime, Michelle Trachtenberg likes antiques, but it’s the need for air-conditioning that leads me to the day’s real treasure. 

FROM Michelle Trachtenberg

TO Angie Banicki

subject 30 Before 30 

Angie,

One of my favorite cities in the world to visit is London, England. I love the people, the architecture, the shopping, and the history. There is so much to see in London, it’s hard to pick just one spot. Of course I highly recommend going to Buckingham palace and trying to make the guards laugh, close to impossible, but worth a try!! My favorite little secret in London though, is the antique market called Portobello Road in Knotting Hill. Every Saturday Portobello Rd. becomes an outside flea market. A loooooong line of antique and vintage dealers line the street selling some of the most unique accessories and clothes you’ll ever find. You feel like you’re digging through a treasure chest or history book.  I can guarantee anything you find there will be extra special and carry its very own story! I think that’s the best souvenir from London. Enjoy!

X

My body launched out of bed, breaking free from the tightly wrapped white sheets of the soft comfortable hotel bed at the St Martins Lane in Soho. Waking up in a new city with a day full of possibilities gave me a bolt of energy, and surprisingly I felt no jet lag.

Thank God for this because I had quite the lineup of moments planned. I jumped out of bed, almost embarrassed by the peppy self that hadn’t emerged from the sheets in quite some time. This London day was mine for the taking. 

I started the day with what became my “normal” planning process: flipping through my color-coded journal, cross-referencing it with the new suggestions that kept showing up daily in my BlackBerry, bouncing those off maps and whatever meet-ups I had already planned and scheduled on my calendar, and trying to arrive at something more-or- less manageable. Today’s agenda was shaping up like this: tea at the Orangery, Portobello Road for antiquing, Wimbledon in the afternoon (tickets still unconfirmed!), and finally, the Tate Modern. 

First stop, the Tube to Kensington for Minnie Driver’s recommended tea spot, Queen Anne’s 18th-century Orangery. Walking up to the garden, the pathway was surrounded by greenery. I noticed plenty of regulars on their morning walks—some with strollers, others with dogs.

Sitting and having tea, alone in the beautiful gardens, I felt like a true world traveler enjoying a haven of heavenly peace. I methodically poured tea while observing the family at the table next to me. Two young boys in sear-sucker suits sat nearby, eating chocolate croissants while their parents spoke in heavy British accents. I felt myself sitting up straighter. Yes, I could be proper. I smoothed out the bed head that my hotel’s gay concierge, who I consulted for London-ready fashion advice, had kindly called, “just tousled enough.” Then the mum scolded her boys for bouncing around the table, completing this caricature of British reserve.

After an hour of tea sipping and quiet observation, I set off for Portobello Road on what, according to my maps, seemed to be a walk able route. I felt sweat start to drip down my side and my scalp, adding a new layer to my fashionable “tousle.” I pulled the rubber band off my wrist and went for the pony, worth it for the cool breeze on my neck. My posture, perfected at tea, was now bending in my push toward my next destination. 

To add to the disenchantment of it all, mid-walk I got an email: the Wimbledon ticket I had hoped to have for later that day was a no-go. Bloody hell!