Mews

Before moving to London I didn't know what a "mews" was - today a mews looks like a back street or lane behind larger residential buildings (like mine), but in the 17th and 18th centuries they used to be rows of stables where the horses and carriages were kept for the big houses on the other side.  Now they are pretty much all converted into living space and can be very modern and cool.

This is the mews we look down on from our flat (Bathurst Mews):

Our mews actually has one of the few functioning stables left - Hyde Park Stables.  It's very busy down there and I always see horses with riders going to and from the park.  They give riding lessons to children as well, they have tiny little ponies for the tiny little kiddos!  It's pretty cute.  We even have "horse crossing" signs around our neighborhood.  If the windows are open I can hear the neighing and clopping of horses on the cobblestone.  

The mews really look their best in the summer - there are so many flowers and plants that bloom (but these pictures are mostly from the fall)...

I love pink houses!  And they are right at home in a mews.

At the end of a mews is our local pub - The Victoria (the "Vic").  It's a great place to people watch or horse watch!