The Gorier, the better

There are so many wonderful hotels in London these days, but my heart definitely quickens whenever we check into the Gore Hotel in South Kensington.  The last time we were there, we stayed in this room. 

Depending on who's behind the front desk, it goes by either the "Venus Suite" or the "Judy Garland Suite" (apparently the gilt bed in the photo above belonged to her.) The wall paint is incredible. It's so pigment-rich.  It reads like a tarnished coppery-green, enveloping the room in a warm luster and throwing all the reds and golds into sharp relief.

On the afternoon I took this photo, my son and I had just returned home after a lengthy day spent perambulating around town. You can see my World of Interiors magazine on the marble table, along with the remnants of a much-needed glass of wine (for me) and a Pellegrino for him.

Okay, full confession:  being captive to the attention span of a first-grader didn't exactly translate into the leisurely day of shopping I had hoped for.  After a disastrous start, I calculated that I had a mere 5-8 minutes to whiz through the aisles of my favorite purveyors (Hatchard's, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason's) before the whining and foot-dragging began. After promising him a trip to the toy store if he would just let me look around a little longer, I was able to increase my browsing time to 15 minutes per shop --  and not a minute more.  Of course, when we reached Hamley's (the FAO Schwartz of London),  I became the one whining and dragging my feet, which I blame on a sugar crash from eating one too many Curlie Wurlies.

After a day filled with such intensive negotiations, we returned to the Gore where I collapsed into a heap, not unlike the nude in our window (albeit much less gracefully). 

Finally, we were in agreement upon something.