LONDON 2026-01-26
A travelog, part 3.
Exploring Walthamstow
J and I walked to William Morris Gallery. We stopped by some shops along the way, and I bought souvenirs!
Purchased at Lot One Ten on Hoe St.
I haven't been to an antique shop in a long time. These types of shops are nostalgic to me, as I loved digging through relics in my youth. My haul is from Lot One Ten. There were a couple of cat items I wanted but they weren't for sale! I liked that.
From left to right: A Marvel comic book from 1976 in German, a dice roller (you press it and it shuffles the dice; will most likely be used as a stim toy), and Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne (beautiful illustrations inside).
A cool building on the way to William Morris Gallery.
Walthamstow is a nice area and I would love to spend more time exploring the shop and cafes in the future.
William Morris Gallery
The entrance of the museum.
From the gallery's website:
William Morris Gallery is set in Lloyd Park in Walthamstow, in north-east London, sitting comfortably in the walls of a Georgian house. Built in the 1740s, the grade II listed building was William Morris’s family home from 1848 to 1856 and now serves as the only public Gallery devoted to William Morris.
I knew about William Morris wallpapers, but I thought they were just any other wallpaper company that generated hundreds of new wallpapers every year. Nope! William Morris also designed tiles and home interiors, and the patterns are limited to what he created until his death. Meaning, no more new wares! I thought that was really cool.
Some of the brand's most iconic patterns.
Imagine having tiles like this on your fireplace? (Also, imagine having a fireplace?)
Morris was a socialist and despite being born into a wealthy family, he thought the upper class had horrible taste. The museum was filled with his sassy quotes. I wish I took more pictures of them.
A serious William Morris quote.
I do not want art for a few,
any more than education for a few,
or freedom for a fewWilliam Morris, 1877
There was an interactive part in the exhibit where you played as Morris establishing his brand and business. In the end, I learned that I'm not very good at business and my "wife" told me that I should get a proper job! I love interactive displays because it's a fun and immersive way to learn.
Women in Print
The other side of the first floor showcased "Women in Print" featuring the works of textile designers from Liberty†.
† I first learned of Liberty back when they collaborated with Target during my early 20s. I bought a piece and never wore it. Typical past-me behavior. My sister probably has it now, and I doubt I can fit into whatever it is I bought.
The colors!
A fun way to showcase this pattern.
I just love how the bench matches the carpeting on the floor! ABSOLUTE CHEF'S KISS!
The museum has 2 floors, but I decided to save the top floor for another time.
A late lunch
K and I were really hungry, so we decided not to wait for R and Usagi and headed straight to Etles Uyghur Restaurant. (J was there too, just not as hungry as the two of us.)
We promptly ordered two servings of stir-fried leghmen (they're like udon noodles) with shrimp, dumplings, samosas, stir-fried potatoes, and I ordered a pot of hot herbal tea.
J kept telling me to open the pot to see what was inside. We oohed and aahed.
The stir-fried potatoes were ABSOLUTE CHEF'S KISS please if you've never tried it, you must!!
I forgot to take pictures of the noodles because I was too hungry. R and Usagi eventually joined us and then we headed back to J's for desserts.
Dessert party
R made her signature school cake. Apparently, it's called this because that's what they used to eat in primary school, a vanilla sponge cake with frosting and "hundreds and thousands," which is the British English word for "sprinkles‡."
‡ I asked Daniel to guess what the British call "sprinkles." I said it was 3 words. Guess #1: A little glitter. Guess #2: Candy sand corns.
School cake without custard.
K then said she would heat up some custard to have with the cake. I had to try it too of course, but I prefer it without. I feel like the custard distracts from the cake.
School cake with custard. When it comes to western desserts I like 'em sweet, so the custard took that away.
SOME THINGS I NOTICED:
- British frosting is thin. In the US we'd call it a glaze. American frosting is thick and creamy
- British custard is also thin, runny, and slightly sweet. I imagined it'd be thicker, creamier, and sweeter. Probably why I didn't like it!
Then it was my turn in the kitchen. Since I bake cookies now, I want to do a flavor of the month using the same base recipe§ I've been using. And because I was in London, I wanted to try earl grey, as I've also seen that trending on Instagram.
§ I just replace the black sesame with another flavor.
The black bits are earl grey leaves!
The cookies looked dry, but they came out really well! In fact, it had a zesty flavor. I only ate one cookie because I plan on making this for Daniel some time this week (or next week, most likely).
We tried to watch an episode of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days but Usagi's projector stopped working about 25 minutes in. This is the one reality show that I got sucked into, because of this group! Now that I'm home it's low on the priority list, but I'd like to watch it eventually.
Conclusion
I woke up at 6:30 the next morning to begin my travel back home. I ate leftover leghmen for breakfast, which was great. Nothing interesting to report and no photos because I was tired. I arrived at my apartment after 19:00, because Daniel and I had dinner at the station and then we just sat at Joe and the Juice for like, an hour.
All in all, I felt like we did a lot for the short amount of time I was there. In fact, I felt like I was there for a whole week! I really enjoy hanging out with this group of friends and we plan on meeting again sometime during the summer.
I'm also thinking about doing a week in London to visit other friends and probably friend-hop throughout the various boroughs in which they live. Or do more long weekends, but the travel days are exhausting. We shall see.
Oh, and I revamped WHERE I'VE BEEN to create a space for my travelogs. ✈︎