For David’s December break from work, we decided to visit London to enjoy the Christmas decorations. Also, we had been to London before and knew our way around. For that reason, it was one of the more relaxing breaks. Since we had visited most of the museums and major tourist sites, we just enjoyed walking around the city taking in the holiday lights and decorations.
We had a cute apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood, off of Fulham Road. The apartment was only a 10 minute walk from Kings Road, the shopping (or high) street for Chelsea….most of the stores and restaurants are still the same from the last time we were in London.
I arrived a couple of days before David and went to two of my favorite museums….
The Victoria and Albert Museum
It is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and designs. From an inventory of over 200,000 items from around the world, 60,000 objects are on display. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have visited this amazing place. On both visits to London, the apartments that we stayed in were about a 20 minute walk to the museum. I just loved to “pop” in for a look at display or two. You can spend hours upon hours in this museum and still not see all of it! There are actually 7 miles of corridors.
Throughout the day, there are one hour lectures offered for various displays. One lecture takes you on a general tour of various artifacts in museum and there are other tours offered for a specific period of history….the Medieval or Renaissance period, British History, European History, etc. Of course, an hour isn’t enough time and as one of the guides said during a tour, “it is just enough information to whet your appetite so you will come back for more.” How true!
The V & A also offers lunchtime lectures that are free and courses that can be paid for. On this trip, there were not any lunchtime lectures, most likely due to the holiday schedule but my last stay in London, I probably attended a lecture a week. Just so interesting and so much fun!!!
Here are some of the items on display that I found to be very interesting –
This is one of the five notebooks that the V&A Museum has of Leonardo Da Vinci’s from the years of 1495-1497!!! Is that not amazing??? On these pages, Leonardo is exploring the theory for weights, stresses and balances. He has drawn diagrams exploring effective pulley systems.
This is the Virgin and Child made from terra cotta and encased in enamel. I particularly like the enamel because of the vibrant colors. This method was less expensive to produce than marble and stone and more durable. It is credited to the workshop of Andrea della Robbia in 1475-1500s.
Most statues of the Madonna and Child are serious. I love that this one has baby Jesus laughing and Mary smiling at his antics. It makes them appear more human and approachable. Made out of terra cotta, it is believed to be a model for a statue of marble or it was possibly used in a private home. If it was used in a home, it might have been painted. The Virgin with Laughing Child is done by Antonio Rossellino in 1465.
I took this picture to give you an idea of the scale of some of the items on display. In this gallery, the items here are plaster copies of the originals. This practice was done in the 19th century and gave museum goers the opportunity to see works of art that they were most unlikely to be able to travel to see.
This is the replica of the brass doors that were created by the famous artist, Lorenzo Ghiberti for the Baptistry of the Florence Cathedral. Each door depicts five scenes from the Old Testament. This copy allowed people, who were unable to see the original doors in Florence, an opportunity to see Ghiberti’s famous work. The doors were made in 1425-1452 and in the 19th century were recognized as one of the masterpieces from the Renaissance period.
This beautiful piece of art glass greets you as you walk into the lobby of the V&A museum. It is done by the American artist Chihuly. 
This was in the art glass gallery and nearby was a piece done by Chihuly. This piece, done in 1951 is by Toots Zynsky who was born in Boston, MA. You cannot really see clearly in this photo but it is created by individual strands of glass threads layered on top of each other. Although it looks very fragile, the 30 layers of thread are very strong. Such a striking piece of work!
This is the first Christmas card from 1843. It was the idea of Henry Cole to send greetings to family and friend. The art work is done by artist John Callcott Horsley.
There is always a special exhibit at the V&A. The general entrance to the museum is free with a suggested donation of about $6.00. The special exhibits have an entrance fee. While there, I went to the exhibit “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970.” It explored the defining moments of this era that had an impact on the late 60s. Since this was the era that I grew up in, I found it really interesting. The only thing, is there was so much information!!! If I had known how long it was, I wouldn’t have spent so much time in the beginning of the exhibit. It covered fashion, music, the Vietnam war, the Women’s Rights movement, the Civil Rights Movement and Woodstock….that was my favorite part of the exhibit. They showed some of the clothes that the musicians wore and played parts of the movie. I just love the music from Woodstock….Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendricks, Richie Haven, etc, etc, etc……I really enjoyed the exhibit but wish I had paced myself a little better.
Another thing that I really enjoy, every so often, is a cup of coffee and English scone with clotted cream and jam at the museum’s cafe. It is just a nice way to end the day. The restaurant is in a lovely room which you can access either by walking through the museum or from the gift shop, through a courtyard. Sometimes, they have a piano player serenading the customers for added ambiance!
The Victoria and Albert courtyard and entrance that takes you to the cafe.
The National Art Gallery
The building in the background with the pillars and dome is the National Art Gallery.
My second favorite museum is the National Art Gallery in Trafalgar Square. The day that I stopped in, I had been walking and took a break by deciding to have a cup of coffee in the museum’s cafe. It was later in the afternoon and when I finished my coffee, the museum was still open for another hour and a half, so I made my way to the Impressionist exhibit….gosh, the museum was busy, busy, busy and especially the Impression section…Van Gogh’s paintings to be specific. I commented to one of the museum guards and he said it wasn’t actually that busy. I would not want to see a “busy” day!! Anyway, I got to see my favorite – Monet, as well as the other famous artist…Degas, Renior, Pissarro and Cezanne to name a few. The national museums don’t charge an admission which makes it so easy to just pop in for a short visit.
Portobello Road Flea Market, Notting Hill
What better thing to do on a Saturday morning then go to the legendary Portobello Road Flea Market? It was as crowded as we remembered it from 4 years ago and still very fun and entertaining. There were street musicians, antiques, gift items, clothing and a variety of food vendors. It was such a temptation to buy something……we didn’t though! At this point in our lives, we do not need anymore “stuff!!”
I thought this was rather clever!
Kensington Palace
The signs said a “Victorian Christmas” at Kensington Palace, decorated by description taken from Queen Victoria’s diary. I thought how quaint and fun…especially in the heart of London and at Christmas! So, we went and we were disappointed. There are three apartments open to the public in the palace. Queen Victoria’s, The Queen’s Apartment which is where William and Mary resided in 1689 and the King’s Apartment which was lived in by King George II and Queen Caroline (ruled from 1727-1760). I thought that all the apartments would be decorated with a Victorian Christmas theme. That wasn’t the case. None of the apartments were decorated. The hallway going to the Queen’s apartment was decorated, as well as the stairwell, for the Queen’s apartment had a tree. When I asked why, I was given some lame excuse about compromising the displays in the apartments. 
I had gone through the whole palace when I was living in London and would not have gone through again, except for the expectations of seeing the decorations. We zipped through Queen Victoria’s apartment. I did make certain David saw a couple of things that I felt were important. I didn’t take very many photos….
These photos are from the Queen’s apartment. It is the Queen’s Gallery and was originally decorated with Turkish carpets, embroidered wall hangings and a collection of oriental porcelain, some which is on the mantel. This is where Queen Mary spent her days, walking, reading and sewing.
This photo is of the ceiling from the Cupola Room in the King’s Apartment. It is the most elaborately decorated room in the whole palace. 
There was a nice exhibit of Queen Elizabeth’s, Princess Diane’s and Princess Margaret’s gowns at the end of the tour. When asked if I enjoyed my time in the palace, I was polite but shared my disappointment about the lack of decorations and tried to soften my criticism by saying the gown exhibit was lovely.
Princess Diane’s gown in the front…the peach and green gowns were Queen Elizabeth’s.
The Theater District
We saw a couple of great plays while visiting London and after David left, I went to a few more! 
Beautiful was about Carole King and how her career evolved. It was a 2 1/2 hour show that seemed to last for just 15 minutes. It was so excellent! I couldn’t believe all of the songs that she and her husband, Gerry Goffin, wrote together. By the end of the play, I was dancing in the isle!
Book of Mormons was the second play that David and I saw together. We had amazing seats for this play! We were 9 rows from the stage! I thought the play was good but not great! I was very disappointed as it has received so many awards and it seemed to me that everyone who has seen it just loved it. When the play was over, I honestly thought that I had missed something very important during the play because I didn’t LOVE it.
The play is about 2 young men who were missionaries for the Mormon Church. They went to a remote village in Uganda where people were struggling to survive…there was a famine, drought, people were sick with aides and living under the rule of a brutal warlord. There was no hope for a better life. When the missionaries arrived, the leader of the village said that the people had an expression “Hasa Diga Eebowai” which translated means “F-You, God.” I am sorry but I found this extremely offensive and disrespectful to my God.
I understand that it was to make a point, that without God in your life and faith, you have very little hope. In the end, the villagers are baptized as Mormons and realize that with God in their life, that their faith will help them through difficult times. I just wish that they had done it in a different way.
The play certainly had some funny points….so, out of 5 stars, I would give it about 3 1/2. Just not one of my favorites compared to others that I saw while visiting London. 
Oh my goodness, I LOVED this play. It was upbeat, great music and just fun! Plus, I got a “day ticket” to see the play for $25 and a front row seat!! The story is of a shoe factory that is affected by a bad economy. The owner has to reinvent his product and find a new niche to keep the factory open. The “new niche” he thought of is making stiletto boots for cross-dressers. Remember the name “Matt Henry” who played the lead role of a cross dresser and did a phenomenal job!
I didn’t realize that there was a movie Kinky Boots. When I got home, I watched the movie. The play closely follows the same storyline as the movie, although the songs were not the same.
Run…don’t walk…to see this if you ever get the opportunity. I give this play 5 stars!
Dreamgirls was another very good play. It was very much like the movie and used many of the same songs, if not all of the songs that were in the movie. It has been quite a few years since I have seen the movie. I think in the show I saw, Effie White was played by the alternative, Ruth Brown. I have to say that she was excellent. She sang the song, “And I Am Telling You, I Am Not Going” with such emotion that I was feeling her pain. She did a great job with the songs “I Am Changing” and “One Night Only” as well. I felt that this was a more serious story line and although I didn’t feel like I wanted to get up and dance, I would give this a 5 star rating as well. It was excellent.
Finally, the last play I saw before leaving London was Motown!
This play is about the career of Berry Gordy who founded Motown Records. It was a fun, uplifting musical with music from the Temptations, Four Seasons, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and many other singers who had Motown hits. I was definitely dancing in the isle at the end of this play….another 5 star rating!
Walking Along the Thames River
There is a lovely walking path that follows the Thames River. It is a great way to spend an afternoon as you can see many of London’s tourist sites.
This is the famous “London Eye” ferris wheel. The building behind it holds the aquarium, a hotel and other tourist attractions.
On the opposite side of the river, not far from the London Eye, is Big Ben and the Parliament Building. Notice the London double decker buses passing by.
There are several bridges that cross over the Thames but this is one of my favorites. It is the Albert Bridge lit up at night!
The Albert Bridge during the day!
Battersea Park
I met my girlfriend, Stephanie and two of her three children, for a visit one morning at Battersea Park. Originally, we were going to meet at a different park but then she suggested Battersea and I am so glad that she did. This is such a pleasant park to visit. When I was in London before, it was an easy walk from where I was staying so I went to it often. This trip, I hadn’t been once. I had forgotten how nice of a park it is. 
The park is located along the Thames River and this Peace Pagoda is the centerpiece. It is a Buddhist tradition and is meant to inspire peace for all. The park is on 200 acres and has a small pond where ducks and in warmer weather, paddle boats can be seen floating around. One thing I love about this park are all the dogs that are there running and enjoying their early morning walk! Such a variety and so fun to watch.
Stephanie and I met at the Tea Tree Cafe located near the pond. I was surprised that people actually brought their dogs inside the cafe while they enjoyed a cup of coffee. That would never happen in the states!
It was great seeing Stephanie and the children again. I just hope it isn’t another four years before we get to have another visit!
Somerset House
The Somerset House, located on The Strand, with the traditional holiday skating rink.
In 1539, the original building was built by Edward Seymour who became the Earl of Somerset under the rule of nephew, the “boy-king, ” Edward VI. Before the building, which was to be his home, was completed he was overthrown and eventually executed in the Tower of London. When this happened, Somerset House came into the possession of “the Crown.”
During the 17th century, various members of royal family inhabited the house. This ended during the English Civil War and in 1649, Parliament tried, although unsuccessful, to sell it. Over the years, there was little money for the upkeep of the building and it gradually fell into a state of decline. In 1775, the old Somerset House was demolished.
Just about this time, there was much discontent that there were no official building for government offices. Official offices were tucked in various buildings throughout London. With the growing sense of national pride and comparison to capitals in other countries in Europe, there became a great desire for a national building that would house various government agencies.
In 1775, Sir William Chambers, was commissioned by Parliament to design and build a new Somerset House. As with most construction, there were delays due to the war with France, lack of money and the death of Sir Chambers. Between 1829-1834, the east wing was built to house Kings College. Also, housed in the new buildings was the Royal Navy department and living quarters for the officials who worked there. Other government offices and scholarly societies were housed in this lovely building as well.
Today, King’s College is still in the east wing of Somerset House. The building now is a visual arts center as well. Along with various exhibits, restaurants and cafe, the Courtauld Institute of Art is housed in this building and the Courtauld Gallery, as well. I discovered the Courtauld Gallery on my last visit to London and was hoping to visit it again on this trip. The gallery has an impressive collection from old masters up through the impressionist period. So, when my friends suggested that we meet there to see the current “Rodin and Dance: The Essence of Movement” exhibit, I was happy to do so.
The Rodin exhibit focused on the end of Rodin’s career where he devoted his time to the study of movement and dance. He hired models who were acrobats and dance performers to pose in his studio and also, he did sketches while attending live performances. From these sketches, he created small terra-cotta and plaster figures known as the “Dance Movement” sculptures. These Dance Movement sculptures and sketches were on display. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed but it was interesting to see. Especially, the actual photo of Rodin, in Paris, sketching a Thai dancer who was in Paris for an exhibition.
I enjoyed going through the rest of the art gallery as well. Here are some of the paintings that I enjoyed the most….
This painting by Claude Monet, was a challenge for him. He began it in 1881-82 and wrote in a letter to a friend that he was having a difficult time with it. For over 40 years, it remained in his studio before he completed it in the last years of his life.
This is “Self-Potrait with a Bandage Ear” by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. In November of 1888, Van Gogh and artist, Paul Gaugin were in the French village of Arles to paint together. They soon began to quarrel and a particularly vicious argument, Van Gogh cut the lower lobe of his left ear with a razor.
The Outskirts of Pont-Aven by Pierre Auguste Renoir painted in 1888-90. Post-Aven was a small town in Brittany, France that had an artist colony. Renoir visited it often in the late 1880s and early 1890s.
The Fauve Movement is another art period that I really like because of the artist use of bold colors and strong brush strokes. The movement is the early beginning of contemporary art and is called Fauve after “les Fauves” which means “wild beast” in French. It is what the new artist were called who were creating this modern movement. It started in 1900 and lasted until about 1910.
Here are three paintings from the Fauve Movement. The one to the left is “Banks of the Seine at Carrieres-Sur-Seine” done in 1906, by Maurice de Vlaminck, a French artist. Carrieres-Sur-Seine was a favorite spot of Vlaminck along the Seine River near his home village of Chatou. Vlaminck was one of the leading artist in the Fauve movement.
“The Colorful Pastel,” done in 1906 by Andre Derain, a French artist. Not only do I love the colors, but the thickness of the paint used to represent fallen leaves. Derain is probably best known for the 30 paintings he did of London in 1906.
Another French Fauvist artist was Raoul Dufy who painted this picture, “The Boats at Martigues” in 1907.
I was very surprised when I looked and saw this painting was done by Pablo Picasso. There is so much done by Picasso, that I really don’t care for but this painting, I love. “Yellow Irises” was done in 1901 when Picasso was a budding artist. In 1901, Picasso was promised an exhibition by a Paris art dealer, Ambroise Vollard. Picasso left Madrid for Paris in May and painted up to 3 pictures a day to prepare for the show. You can almost feel the haste in which this might have been painted in order to have enough pieces to display!
It was a wonderful afternoon sharing it with my friend Adrien…sadly, Katherine, his wife couldn’t make the visit. One of the fun things about seeing London “through the eyes of a local,” Adrien showed me this amazing Tudor Barge. It is located in the basement of building and took Adrien awhile and a few times asking, to locate it. Had he not shared this with me, I would have not seen it!
When the Somerset house was first built, the Thames Embankment had not been been constructed. Originally, the Thames River came right up to the building. Up until the 19th century, there was even an entrance and boat landing for barges to enter and moor for people arriving or departing. The walkway along the Thames, as we know it today, wasn’t started until 1862.
This is one of the barges that was used by the royals to travel on the Thames as a mean to get through London in the 16th Century. The Somerset was midway between London’s commercial center and the government area of Westminster. Traveling on the Thames was safe and avoided the filth and sickness of the streets of London. My friend, Adrien, is standing by the canopy where the royals would sit. In front of the canopy, is where the oarsmen sat in the long, open part of the barge. I failed to get the length of this boat but it was very long.
This is my parting shot of the Somerset House. During the Christmas holidays, there is a skating rink in the center square. In the summer months, there are dancing fountains that children often play in.
You Never Quite Know What You Will See Walking Around London
The green area on the left is Green Park to Buckingham Palace. The road in front of the palace is “The Mall.” Through Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square and continuing on to the Somerset House on The Strand.
On this day, I was actually heading towards the Somerset House and my walk took me through Green Park, past Buckingham Palace and down the mall, through Admiralty Arch and past Trafalgar Square.
The road that passes through Green Park (Constitution Hill) was blocked, as was the Mall and I realized it was close to 11:30, when they have the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the palace. I have seen it before and didn’t stop to see it again…plus, if you don’t get there early enough, it is difficult to see with the crowd of people.
As I started walking along the mall, in front of Buckingham…..
I heard the bagpipe music and the beat of the drums.
The guards on their way to the palace for the ceremony.
I continued on and soon heard the clopping of horse hooves…..
I just love the pageantry of traditional British customs. I imagine that living in London, you would get used to seeing sights like this but for a gal from Maine, it is always very exciting! You just never know what you will see….some days, you might see one of the royal coaches going through the park as the staff exercise the horses and service the coaches.
At the opposite end of the mall, away from the palace, is Admiralty Arch. It was commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria. Up until recently, it was used as government offices but in 2012, a 125 year lease was sold to a property developer and a luxury hotel is being developed in this building.
Through Admiralty Arch is Trafalgar Square…..
Not the best photo of Trafalgar…especially, since I “cut” Lord Nelson’s statue at the top of the column. Anyway, Lord Nelson commanded the Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar. The building in the background is the National Art Gallery…another favorite place of mine.
Walking around the square, I picked up The Strand and made my way to Somerset House. It was a very entertaining walk!
London at Night!
Buckingham Palace with Queen Victoria Memorial in the front.
This building is along the mall near Buckingham Palace.
Waterloo Place heading towards Regent Street
Light sculpture outside the Royal British Society of Sculptures.
Piccadilly Circus
Meet Winston
This handsome guy is Winston, a beautiful, two year old, Rhodesian Ridgeback. David and I had the pleasure, and luck, to meet Winston and his mistress, Iola, on Christmas Eve. We were walking back to our apartment and they were out for their nightly walk. We asked if we could say hello and the rest, as they say, is “history!”
Iola and I exchanged emails and she invited us to go on a walk with her and Winston. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen while David was in London but after he left, I went on a couple of walks with them. One was around the neighborhood and another was in the countryside of Berkshire, about an hour outside of London.
This untamed area is near the famous race course of Ascot and near the villages of Sunningdale and Chobham. Not far from Sunningdale, you can pick up the path through a park that eventually gets you on “The Long Walk” (which I will share later in this post) to the Windsor Castle. It is accessible by public transportation out of London. A great day activity to keep in mind for the next visit!
This was a far better option, especially for Winston, as he could run freely and really stretch his legs. I am so grateful for the short time that I was able to spend with Iola and her wonderful dog. Thank goodness for the internet as I know that we will keep in touch and I will be able to see them both the next time I visit London!
Windsor
One of my favorite day trips out of London and such an easy one to make. Windsor is about a half-hour train ride from Paddington Station on the Great Western Railway, with a brief change of trains in Slough. Trains for Windsor leave about every half-hour out of Paddington. Speaking of Paddington, look who I met while at the station….Paddington Bear!!! Such a cutie. 
Windsor Castle is the centerpiece for the town of Windsor. Windsor Castle is used by the Queen as her weekend home and as a Royal Palace used for state banquets and official entertaining. In April of 2013, David and I brought my dad to England and used Windsor as our base. It was a great place to introduce Dad to London…we took a couple of day trips in but spent most of our time in Windsor which was a slower pace for my dad.
While we were here, the Queen entertained the President from the United Arab Emirates and held an elaborate parade in his honor. We got to see the queen and the UAE President. My dad swears that the Queen smiled at him and waved to him!
Windsor was busy today. From Paddington Station, there was standing room only on the train. The shopping district at Windsor was crowded with shoppers. It was a gorgeous, sunny day but on the cool side. That didn’t seem to dampen people’s spirits though.
This is taken from the train station. Windsor Castle is looming over the village of Windsor. To the right of the tower is St George’s Chapel, located on the grounds of the castle.
I really love St George’s Chapel. It was built by Henry III in the 13th century. St George’s Chapel is the Mother Church of the Order of the Garter. The Order of the Garter was founded in 1348 and is the highest order of knighthood. Every June, a special service for the members of the Order of the Garter is held at the chapel. Banners with the knight’s coat of arms hang in the upper stalls where the knight has a seat for life. This is all so traditional and British, no? I just loved it all!
We didn’t go in the castle on this visit but I wanted you to have a better understand of what I was describing. Thank you, Will Pearson, for this photo from the internet!
As you walk from the train station…this is your view of the castle…it is right in the center of town.
This is looking from the pedestrian shopping street back towards the castle. I like the crown that is used for Christmas decorations. In front of the Christmas tree is a statue of Queen Victoria. It was commissioned for the Queen’s Golden (50 years) Jubilee Ceremony and unveiled with Queen Victoria in attendance on June 22, 1887.
The pedestrian shopping street across from Windsor Castle.
This was a side street with the castle in the background…it appears that all roads lead to the castle.
This park is called the “Long Walk.” It begins at the George IV Gateway and continues for 3 miles. It was a popular place on this sunny day that we visited.
Walking towards the George IV Gateway with Windsor Castle behind it.
Close up of Windsor Castle through the George IV Gateway.
We walked back through town and then headed towards the river walk. The Thames River goes through Windsor and on the opposite side of the river is the village of Eton, home of the well-known Eton College. Eton College is an independent boarding school that has produced 19 English Prime Ministers and many children of the aristocracy have gone to this school as well.
It is a pretty walk along the Thames River. In the summer, you can take a boat ride down the river.
The swans and other birds are always looking for something to eat.
We both enjoy Windsor and if we ever return, long-term to London area, we would consider making it our base.
Odds and Ends
These are parakeets and were in Hyde Park.
The first time I saw one of these birds, I was walking along the Thames River. First, I thought it was a parrot and then I was concerned, as it was cold. How on earth would a parrot survive a winter? So, I googled to see if I could find out more information about “parrots in London.”
These are feral rose-ringed parakeets that are a prolific Afro-Asian species. They first appeared in the wild in London around 1990s. Today, it is believed that there are about 6,000 living in the suburbs of London and in Southwest London; but possibly as many as 50,000 throughout the UK. Rose-ringed parakeets are popular as pets and can mimic human speech. No one really knows how they came to be living in the wilds of London. There are many theories….some believe that a pair was released into the wild and formed the basis for the existing colony; another suggest that a flock of birds escaped from a London studio during a filming; another is a storage container full of the birds broke open at Heathrow Airport and finally, a large aviary collapsed during a 1987 storm and the birds flew away. However they arrived, I think they are a wonderful addition to the lovely city of London. 
This is a heron…I think a Grey Heron. He was standing in St James park watching all of the silly tourist walk by! It was rather crowded in the park that day!
Yes, this is a baby blue Rolls Royce. Honestly, I have lost count on how many Rolls I have seen. My theory is they have put away the Ferraris and Lamborghinis for the winter and brought out the Rolls Royces! London is a very, very rich city!
My dad worked road construction for his career. David wanted me to take a photo of this mini-excavator to show to my dad and ask him if he thought he could run it? Just as I took the photo, I noticed the company logo….Morrison Utility Service! (Morrison is my maiden name.) What a coincidence!
One of my favorite buildings in London. This is the Natural History Museum.
This is a close-up of the blue stone work that makes this building so special.
The British Museum is another museum that you could spend days in and still not see everything. I haven’t spent that much time in this museum as it was not as close to our apartment. This museum is dedicated to history, art and culture. It offers daily tours and has special exhibits on a regular basis.
The lobby of the British Museum.
Paddington Bear Statue at Paddington Station is my favorite statue in London and this one, Still Waters, found in Hyde Park, is my second favorite. It was done by artist Nic Fiddian-Green in 2011.
This is what a $4.00 cup of coffee looks like at the specialty food store Fortum and Mason. Yes, that is a miniature chocolate ice cream cone! One day, I ended up at Fortums, in search of an English scone. It is a challenge to find a good ol’ scone in London. In my opinion, I paid a ridiculous amount for the coffee and scone, that was about the size of a half dollar….about $8.00. I latter learned that M&S stores have scones in their cafeterias at a more reasonable price! Less ambiance but not important to me!
On Cranley Mews, I can share an example of my favorite houses in London. It is called a “mews.” They are formerly stables with living quarters on the second floor. Today, they have been converted into stylish homes. It is so neat to walk along a busy street and see a mews “tucked” off to the side.
I hope you have enjoyed “wandering” through London with me…..in February, we will be visiting Rome, Italy……until then, I wish you blessings!
What a fantastic trip, Sharalyn! London is such a lovely city…hope I’ll make it back one of these days, too. On to Italy!! Safe travels…hugs, Lori