London 2015: Toy Museum and Afternoon Tea

My Mum and I went out for a "girly weekend" from the 16th-18th July, which was a brilliant trip to London! I gained plenty of inspiration from the city whilst I was away, both in the writing and the dress-making departments! I also completed my first Agatha Christie book - called The Mysterious Affair at Styles - and I'm already hooked on her murder mysteries. Not to mention, I got lots of shopping done - always a bonus. :)

On the way there I found a traditional umbrella and walking stick shop that reminded me of Bertie Wooster. As a bonus, there is a London double decker bus in the background.

After checking in to our hotel and unpacking, we walked a long way to Pollock's Toy Museum, which I loved. It was a creepy, creaky old house with twisted staircases leading to rooms full of staring eyes. There must have been four floors, and each one had toys in every nook and cranny, creating almost a maze effect. One room smelt strongly and inexplicably of lavender, reminding me of a ghost story I once heard. Nightmarish to some - including my mother - but I found it wonderful!
The toys could be seen as scary in a way, being ancient and cracked (most of them were Victorian), though most of them were in rather good condition considering that they'd been around since 1822, perhaps earlier.
My favourite bits were the paper theaters that hung in the entrance, the handcrafted doll houses (each one unique and detailed, showing that before items became industrialised and mass-produced, everyone was much more crafty in making their own beautiful things), the dolls staring from behind glass, and the South African tribal doll made of felt and coloured beads.
In all, we spent an hour there.

Then, at 3 o'clock we made our way to Afternoon tea at the Kings Way Hall hotel restaurant, the Harlequin. This was one of the greatest meals I've ever had, as the food was gorgeous and well-presented, the owners and workers very accommodating of my dietary requirements, and the atmosphere just right; it was completely quiet at that time of day, save for Mum and I chatting and the classical music in the background.
I had the gluten free option, which consisted of three scoops of lovely sorbet (mango flavour, icing sugar flavour, and lemon - turning into six scoops seeing as I liked it so much!), a massive plate of arranged fruit that looked rather artistic, and four sandwiches (ham and pickle, smoked salmon, cucumber, and egg) that had very soft bread. They also gave us a bottle of sparkling water, and Mum and I ordered two pots of teas; I had the "Finest Darjeeling" and she had "Mango Madness". The teas were loose leaf and so we had to use a strainer, which I'd never done before (being the peasant I am, haha). My favourite out of the two teas was my Mother's, so I stole some of hers, haha.

Mum's cakes.

Sorry 'bout my glazed expression - I'm not very photogenic!
For the whole day, including travel, I wore my Three Archangels OP from Innocent World, neutral tights, black Mary Janes, silver jewellery, and a simple diamante headband.