I decided to be lazy and putter around for a bit this morning. I think I left around 9ish? I headed out to walk along the Long Water and the Serpentine (which is kind of the same thing but cut in half by a road and the boundary between Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park).
Kensington Gardens in the spring...
This is the famous Peter Pan statue
There was a flock of parrots...here's one of them
Some of the lovely swans in the Long Water
I love the random decorative buildings that show up in Britain...
This is the bridge that separates Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park...and The Long Water from The Serpentine.
This is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It's an interesting fountain that is set up to be more like a small circular river with rapids, still parts, falls...it's interesting...
Here's part of one of the rapids bits.
By design, I ended up at the Albert Memorial with its gilded statue of Prince Albert.
Here it is from farther away, and it's still not the whole thing. There are statues on all four corners that represent four continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, and...
Getting to the end of the park didn't stop me, I kept going.
The Albert Memorial faces Prince Albert Hall. I briefly considered buying Simply Red tickets for a concert tonight, but it's sold out. I am REALLY Tempted to get tickets for New Order on Saturday night. The cheapest tickets are about $100.
Another Albert statue.
A slightly prettier shot without buses and people...
So I ended up in the Victoria and Albert Museum at lunchtime. This is the building that contains the refreshment rooms and is one of my favorite places to eat in London.
The above are all details from the Gamble Room, where I usually end up eating. I am fascinated by the majolica tile ceiling and wall details. The windows aren't bad either. There are three separate original rooms. Putting a restaurant in a museum was a radical concept when this was built.
The above photos are of the Morris Room (originally called the Green Room for obvious reasons), the first big commission for William Morris. Many of the paintings and the windows were done by Edward Burne-Jones.
This is The Scandal Relief by Charles Sargent Jagger and was actually a humorous reference to a menage the man who commissioned it had with his wife and an author friend. Naughty art!
The V&A has a fashion collection of clothing through the years. I was still hung up a bit on the Austen I'd experienced the day before.
Although I'd enjoyed this Chanel as well.
I also ended back up at my favorite part of the museum, the Cast Court. Although it was (STILL!) undegoing restorative work, I was able to see much more than last time. Ah, my friend David was again accessible.
Here's an angel I thought was just lovely.
There were also copies of the tomb effigies of some of the past monarchs of England.
Henry VII
Richard I where his heart was interred in Rouen.
Richard I where the rest of him was interred Fontevrault. He sure doesn't look like himself...
Here is my old friend St George.
And a different pose with George and his Dragon.
Last time I saw this Buddha, it was behind glass. I like it much better this way...all golden and glowy without a glare.
I wandered around a bit more and checked out the gift shop. Believe it or not, I didn't buy a thing! The only thing I really liked were the Morris patterned scarves and they cost upwards of £45 which is way more than I will pay for a scarf, no matter how pretty it is.
So I headed out and walked up the street to...
Harrods! It seems to me that they've relaxed a lot of the rules they used to have the previous times I was here. There were tourists everywhere with backpacks and I'm almost certain I saw people taking photos. I still wasn't brave enough to take photos of the Egyptian Escalator...but it's still as cool as it always has been.
I immediately found the food hall and made some pricey purchases. Then, off to the Harrod's Shop for a couple of gifts. I then wandered through the Waterford and Wedgwood areas, marveling over the crystal chandeliers and unusual jasper ware.
I was intrigued by signs that kept pointing to the "Godiva Chocolate Cafe." Now, this store is a maze and I kept being turned around, but I finally found it. Holy Eskimo pies, it was Heaven in chocolate! The hostess pointed out the special, then confided that her favorite is "Chocolate Sin Cake." How could I refuse...and I got it with a decadent chocolate milkshake called the Chocolixir. Yeah, I overdid it a bit and my stomach was protesting when I was done.
I then used the most posh toilet I've ever seen in a department store...I wouldn't have mentioned it, but they had expensive designer perfumes available if you needed a bit more freshening up than a hand washing...
Then I got a bit lost in the maze of women's designer clothes. Louis Vitton and Chanel and Dior, oh MY! Eventually, I found my way out and exited the store.
At this point, I was kind of wiped out. I found the closest Tube station and mapped out my transfers. The first train I got on was like a sardine can...OMG, Two trains later and I was home.
Thank God the lift is fixed, as those stairs would have killed me...
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