Sunday, July 21st: We spent a great part of yesterday at the Victoria and Albert Museum (the V&A) in Kensington. Its collections (and its building) are quite eclectic and reminded us of what you might find in one's attic - it is London's Attic.
I should say that I tend to get pretty wordy in the blog posts but we use it as our main record of what we did. Without this detail, we would not remember later, in several months from now or in a year, what and where we went. So, please excuse the length and you can focus on the photos. They hopefully give a briefer overview of our 'adventure.'
We slept reasonably well (in a hot room) until about 3 am local, then I was wide awake. I worked on the first blog posting starting at around 4 am. We showered after that and then departed the hotel for breakfast at 7 am. Most places (per Google) were not open until 8 am or later, but I found a place that did open earlier -- Fast Break, on the edge of the Holborn neighborhood. It was excellent and we both enjoyed Eggs Royale (like Eggs Benedict but with smoked salmon instead of ham) with salad. Three policemen, i.e., 'constables,' came in shortly after us, which was a good sign -- they often know the good places to eat. By the time we left, most of the tables were taken.
We next walked a short distance to an Underground station (Holborn) for a ride to near the V&A Museum, but the subway line we needed to take was closed for the day. So, we took another one that got us to the north side of Kensington Park and we walked the rest of the way to the museum, mostly across Kensington Park, seeing Kensington Palace, the Round Pond (with swans and geese), people exercising and dogs enjoying the fields.
Kensington Palace, home of William, Kate and the boys. Not very impressive.
The Albert Memorial, erected by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband. It is on the south side of the park.
There are four corners of sculptures representing four large parts of the English empire -- this one is labeled "America." Note the bison, and a seated Native American. I am not sure what the maidens signify. The other corners represent Europe, India, and Africa.
The Royal Albert Hall - the annual summer concerts known as 'The Proms' began this week. We toured this venue many years ago on a prior trip to London.
Front entrance to the V&A Museum.
Just inside the vestibule hangs a huge Dale Chiluly glass sculpture. Chiluly is from Tacoma, WA.
View of the garden in the center of the buildings. Its current incarnation includes a wading pool and an outdoor cafe.
After taking an hour-long tour of the "Highlights of the Museum" we went to the garden for a raisin scone and carrot cake.
It started to rain which drove everyone inside, so this photo which shows one side the building that faces the garden.
After the snack, we went back inside to see/photograph some of the exhibits pointed out by the tour guide. This is the Cast Room, where there are replicas of famous facades, sculptures, coffins, etc. The towers are a replica of Tragan's Column and depicts in the spiral scenes of his campaigns to expand the Roman Empire. The near section fits on top of the section with a pedestal (as the original in Rome does). We enjoyed the ability to get close to the details.
Detail of some of the early scenes.
An unusual church chapel replica (note the carved vine around the column)
Replica of the Bronze Doors at the Florence Baptistery.
Detail of one panel for the door above, showing an effective use of perspective, giving a 3-dimensional look.
A 15th century wooden, spiral staircase.
Double Oak Doors with impressive iron work.
Bi-fold wood shutters with decorative metal work and hinges.
An heavy duty gate. The museum had lots of cast iron and wrought iron artifacts.
A large set of metal screens.
A 15th century Persian rug all in silk, one of the oldest rugs they know about. Four hundred knots in each square inch of the rug. It is 17 feet by 35 feet in size.
To stretch our legs, we hiked back to our hotel across the city instead of taking the Underground - 4.1 miles. The temperature was much cooler today compared to yesterday and was pretty comfortable walking. We passed a variety of sites, most of which we had seen on previous visits. The photos don't capture the hordes of people cramming the sidewalks and cafes - the city is very busy.
All Souls Church at the end of Regent Street. To the left and behind is the BBC Headquarters.
And one more interesting access cover -- guess where they get their water from, or at least, a noteworthy name for their water department.
After returning to our hotel to rest up and prepare for dinner out, we walked to The Seafood Bar, a restaurant in the Soho District that was suggested by Todd Abrams and his partner, Wenwen. Todd is Betsy's cousin's son and has been visiting London for the last 7 weeks. We had dinner with him and his parents in May, the night before traveling to New York City during our last adventure (you may be to see a record of this visit in the blog listing for May 24th). In any case, we learned of Todd's visit to London, and followed through on joining him and Wenwen at a restaurant of their choice. Todd had reserved a table at this restaurant and we enjoyed a terrific seafood dinner with the pair. Three of us got to pick, crack, slop our way through generous platters of oysters, crabs, clams, mussels, and several varieties of prawns, while Betsy had a simpler array with fewer shells.
We had a good, wide-ranging conversation. Todd and Wenwen had just come from the Tate Modern so we talked about art and our visit to the V&A. We shared tips on other things to see and do in London - on their next trip, since they fly back to the States on Tuesday. We covered jobs (Wenwen is doing public policy for the UN with focus on human traffic and Todd is undergoing interviews), reading, and walking. They really liked the hiking paths, or Wanderwegs, in Vienna. We split up about 9:30, taking the Undergound home.
The "Fruits de Mer" dinner selection for one.
Todd and Wenwen.
You are off to a great start!
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