The Streets of London

We moved from Chelsea to another apartment at Shepherds Bush.  Whilst it is only a 10 minute drive away from Chelsea the area is much more multicultural with many Lebanese restaurants located throughout.  There is also a large market selling everything from fruit and veg to luggage and clothes.

Best Robin Hood Ever

We took a little time out to explore the local area and also managed a spot of geocaching.  We located one cache at the site of the first London bomb explosion of World War 2.  The house that was bombed was never rebuilt, instead a lovely community garden has been cultivated there.

Michael downloaded an app for a Dickens walk around London (there really is an app for everything).  We followed the route, which took us through the old Inns of Court.  We had walked along some of the roads before but it is amazing how much more interesting everything is when you discover the hidden history.  We saw the clock with the figures Gog & Magog, that Aunt Betsy Trotwood took David Copperfield to see when they visited London.
I had previously walked straight past without seeing it.  

We have resumed our exploration of various galleries and museums.  The Dulwich Picture Gallery was interesting with a good collection of old masters and there were two particularly good Gainsborough portraits.  We then took a walk to the Horniman Museum, which houses an eccentric collection of musical instruments, African tribal shields and artwork and various anthropological exhibits.  It is one thing to see an overstuffed walrus and various faded and stuffed animals such as penguins and kangaroos but it is quite another to come across the mounted head of a greyhound and other domestic dogs.  It was actually quite upsetting.

We have paid a couple of visits to the National Gallery and still have not seen everything.  We did track down a rather nice Hieronymus Bosch painting and a number of Monets, one of which was stunning.  The good thing about this gallery is that it is situated in the heart of London right next to Trafalgar Square so you can just pop in and look at a couple of rooms at a time.

The National Army Museum was very well done with exhibits covering the major wars since Napoleonic times.  There was a particularly moving audio-visual display regarding injuries sustained and treatment for soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

I wandered off to the Victoria & Albert Museum whilst Michael was working and spent four hours touring the various exhibits.  I then went back with Michael on the weekend for a further three hours and still did not see everything.  One area that particularly stood out was the Cast Courts, which is full of amazing casts of huge statues and Trajan’s Column.  The sheer size of these exhibits, have to be seen to be believed.  There are also many Rodin statues and lovely artworks on display.  The restored Hereford Screen is also a stunning piece of work.

We did visit the British Museum however we were evacuated out after about 15 minutes due to a fire in one part of the building.  We will return as we only grabbed a glimpse of the Rosetta Stone and I would also like to see the Elgin Marbles.

The London Eye was magnificent.  We couldn’t have chosen a better day – glorious sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.  We made sure that we got there early as we expected that there would be large crowds however, when we got there, we walked straight up to the ticket office and were served immediately, viewed the 4D audio visual and then waited about three minutes to board our pod.  It couldn’t have been easier.  Naturally the view was fantastic and a great way to get a good perspective of London.

The changing of the guard was impressive as always and then we took ourselves off to the Banqueting Hall, which is directly opposite the Household Cavalry Museum.  This was one of the highlights of our trip so far to London.  The hall ceiling was painted by Rubens, and is the only ceiling painted by him which remains in the place it was painted for.  The artwork is exquisite and the museum has laid out beanbags in the middle of the floor so that you can lie down and gaze up at the ceiling.  I could have stayed there all day.

We have also spent time visiting the various markets.  On Sunday we visited the Columbia Road Flower Market.  This was a lovely market with stalls selling beautiful flowers and plants along a street lined with interesting little shops selling everything from artworks to quirky souvenirs.  From there it was just a short walk to Brick Lane with its lovely hipster vibe.  Around the corner is the Spitalfields Market which is full of interesting fare.  There was also the Petticoat Lane Market but by then we had run out of steam!

Tomorrow will see the eagerly awaited arrival of “she who must not be named”.