Quick trip to LONDON

I love London and have been trying to come up with a scheme where I get to live there a few (sunnier) months of the year....  Until then, I try and visit often.  On a recent trip with my husband on our way to and from Morocco, we stayed over a night on the way there and back-- not long enough but just enough to keep my love affair with the city going.  Thanks to some English friends (thank you Guard Brothers and Robert!), we stayed at the cutest boutique hotel in the ever charming Notting Hill.  The Portobello Hotel is picture perfect sitting in a row of white townhouses on the quaint Stanley Gardens.  Each room is unique and a blend of old fashioned married with modern so that you have the necessities of updated bathrooms, room service and an elevator as well as and fun design elements (Moroccan lanterns, canopied beds and claw-foot bathtubs).  The continental breakfast (included in the room rate) is served in the sitting room on the first floor which overlooks Stanley Gardens -- waiters take coffee orders as well as any additions you may desire to the the complimentary flaky croissants and delicious muffins, coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice.  The Porobello staff is also approachable and helpful.  I also love that the hotel is a stone's throw from the shops and restaurants of Notting Hill as well as a short walk from Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Two dinner spots we discovered and would race back to are the famous Cow -- an upscale pub on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill, and the Italian spot La Famiglia in Chelsea.  The Cow was especially fun as the World Cup had just kicked off and the attractive, well dressed crowd was into the game.  The food is definitely not the usual "pub food" but was quite delicious with the traditional pub dishes dressed up as well as salads, pastas with crab meat, etc.  At La Famiglia we sat in the bright, open back garden where you feel as if you could be in Italy or Greece.  The pastas and fish were delectable and the wine list was extensive and interesting.  It was the perfect spot for a dinner with friends!