A day of two halves

Today saw our final day on our London Pass so we had to fit a couple of visits in to make sure we got good value for money. The day got off to a worrying start when Cheryl discovered we had been given an empty box while shopping so the first job of the day was to trek back to Oxford St and sort it. Thankfully it proved to be very simple as the box had a white dot on it indicating empty box. At this point we thought the bad day was over and all would be good so we headed to the changing of the guard at the Horse Guards parade only for Maree to discover her Swarovski crystal earring had fallen out - good thing she only ever wears one at a time - this was not a high point! The Guard change was good but there was a very dull patch in the middle where nothing happened. The Household Cavalry Museum was next and this proved to be a little gem, we saw some of the horses post the change getting their tack removed and we could try on the helmets worn by the Guards - we now have a whole new respect for them cos it was uncomfortable. It was then over the road to Banqueting House where there is an impressive ceiling painting by Ruben, but the highlight was the lowering of one of the chandeliers so its bulbs could be changed. Westminster Abbey was next and boy is this an impressive building. We got the audio guide which was brilliant - Jeremy Iron's voices it and the layout was much easier to follow than St Paul's. we then had to make a hurried trip across town to get to The Globe Theatre tour which we made with 10 mins to spare. This was good as our guide was brilliant and the one following was not as good. Was a tad chilly sitting on the upstairs levels. After a quick trip home we headed again to the Tate where we checked out the rest of the collection before once again heading to the Pre Raphaelites as Friday is late night. This was a great decision as by 9 there were very few people around and we could enjoy our favourites just about alone. Only one full day left.

Always look up

Today we set off early to go to Hampton Court Palace. Of course we picked the nana train and all of the other trains passed us but we still got there just before opening time. On entering the palace, we were heading to the kitchens, the first thing on the guidebook when a lovely elderly volunteer stopped us and congratulated us on looking up. Maree was taken with the decorative chimney pots (over two hundred different ones) and he gave us the tip of the day!! Go see Henry VIII crown before the school children arrive, over seven hundred a week! His apartments were amazing fantastic antlers, tapestries and ceilings to be seen. We came out and were confronted by hoards of school children with work sheets that no one seemed to be filling out. The guide books lied again and we had to curtail our viewing of the gardens but we still did the maze. Went to the royal school of needlework shop not a good experience. The lady was rude and if we had not really wanted to buy some pieces would have walked out. This made us miss our first choice train as well. Back to London and saw Buckingham Palace and then we walked up to Wellington Arch, where we viewed a small exhibition on Eygpt in London (nicer to view than the British Museum one) as we were the only people there. Got to go outside from the top of the arch and took some photos. Also saw the NZ war memorial.
Decided that we could just have a quick exhibition viewing before trekking back out to Oxford Street and Cheryl got to see Chocywockydoodah where they were filming something so it was a bit hard to get into. It has been a big day and everyone's feet hurt.
Squirrel count today was 2. Total 13

A step too far

Today everywhere we went there were steps and lots of them. Has been a big today that started early but this proved to be a good decision as we got to The Tower of London by 9.15 and definitely beat the crowds. Highlights were seeing the Crown Jewels by our selves and yes we went 3 times on the travelator going past the pieces. Once again the guide book lied and there was no way we could have got round in 2 hours. The White Tower was not what we expected as it housed the armoury and our timing was not quite as good as we got there with a school group. The first large number of steps were here and they seemed to go on forever in a downward spiral. This is our kind of attraction as it had not 1 but 4 gift shops! We showed restraint and only shopped in 2. Before leaving we had a yummy lunch of baked potato with chilli meat and beans and a pear, broccoli and Stilton tart. It was then time for a quick trip to All Hallows' church and then it was off to Tower Bridge exhibition where we went across the upper deck of the Tower Bridge and then down into the engine rooms, we were able to exit through the gift shop with no purchase. Next on the list was Southwark cathedral an amazing building but we had to purchase a photo permit to be allowed to take pics, 2 people came and checked I had a permit even though it was stuck on my hand for all to see. By this stage it was 3.00 and we wanted to do St Paul's so luck was with us and the tube got us there with 1 hour to view. Was a bit of a rush tour that started with more steps 260 plus up an upward spiral then through a very narrow corridor to the whispering gallery. The downward journey even seemed to take a long time. As part of our London pass we got a audio guide which was great as we found out there is a version of Holman Hunt's Light of the World - not as nice as the one at the Tate. We then found out Holman Hunt and Millais are both buried there so it was down to the crypt to find them, a poor choice of starting meant we went round the whole crypt before finding them. A quick trip to the gift shop had to be done as we were unable to take pics. A quick trip home then back out to do some shopping at Harrods completed the day. The stairs at the tube were demoralising to say the least, am hoping tomorrow will see less stairs.

The guide book lied ......

Today we went to the V&A museum, firstly to view the Hollywood costume exhibition. A fantastic collection suffering badly from a very poor layout and a population of people who are really slow readers. Once again we were surprised at just how short some actors are! Had an early lunch of venison, chestnut and ale pot pie eaten in the Morris room - decorated by Morris & Co.
The rest of the museum is overwhelming and after three hours, a cup of tea and scone, decided to quit while we were ahead having seen a good eighty five percentage except for the two beasts of dacre (google it) griffin and bull were in storage. Grrr
Off to Florence Nightingale museum which again had undergone a modernisation to it's detriment - seemed to have been a sale on fake green hedging to cover the displays!!
We saw the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in twilight and the rain.
Dover St Market was our next stop do not let the name fool you is actually too cool for school - way to cool for us - but Maree wanted to buy the perfume here so we did and got out ASAP.
Walked along Piccadilly to Piccadilly Circus and then to Hamleys toy shop where they were spraying fake snow from the top of the building. Inside they had a great lego display of the royals. Post this were a bit tired so came home early.

Short famous people

Today the day began with a trip to Madame Tussaud's, where we were surprised at just how short many famous people are - Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp, Judy Dench to name a few. The new Marvel 4d movie was a highlight but both of us opted out of the scream corridor. We then headed to Kensington Palace, where they have put together a very unusual collection of rooms - some more successful than others. Seeing Queen Victoria's wedding dress was a highlight. She was short too. A walk through Hyde Park followed and a fantastic number of squirrels were seen - count is 11 live and 1 dead. The Albert memorial was viewed next, an amazing thing but the question must be asked was it good use of public money??? We then walked for what seemed like forever to find the Diana memorial which really was not worth the effort. The Winter Wonderland was next, it is basically the A and P show on steroids with lots of stalls and food. The highlight was the ice world with amazing ice sculptures but damn it was cold in the tent. There was an ice slide that Maree had to try and boy was it fun, a great deal of speed was achieved resulting in Cheryl completely missing the photo and nearly getting taken out by Maree at the bottom. We then tried to find Dover Street Market but failed and instead walked up Park Lane, we watched two men spend a long time uncovering an Aston Martin Vanquish. We walked down Oxford Street and then headed back to Liberty where we had a quick cup of tea before doing a spot of shopping.

Celebrity encounter

Today we went to the London Zoo through Regent Park. First fast track entry for our London Pass. We saw reindeer - very cute but smaller than we thought they would be - other highlights were the aquarium and the carousel. Tried to find the underground station in Camden which took a while as the ten minute walk really was ten minutes plus. Maree was getting excited by this stage because we were off to Loop a wool shop to met Stephen West, a knit wear designer. He was very nice and very tall. He chatted away and signed a copy of his book for Maree. See photo below. Had cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery very yummy and did some exercise by doing brass rubbing at St Martins in the field. Off to Liberty a gorgeous store and had fish and chips with mushy peas for tea. Yum!

But is it art.?.???????

Big big day today even the rain did not stop us. We first set out to Guild hall art gallery to view Rossetti's La Ghirlandata and the Roman amphitheatre remains both were great. We then battled the rain to the Museum of London, major design flaw is if you arrive the way we did it is impossible to find entrance and we only managed it cos we found a cute building and went for a nosey look. This is an extensive museum that looks at London right through history. After another gift shop and a cup of tea we went to Kings Cross Station where we went to Platform 9 3/4, then we headed with what seemed like all of London to the British museum once again we battled the weather to get there. Again this is a very extensive collection and we both feel we have seen a lifetimes worth of Greek pottery. The Egyptian rooms were incredibly crowded but we managed to see the top 10 things with the Lewis chess set being a highlight. Boy are there some gift shops including a very expensive one where all that could be heard was "don't touch" from nervous parents. We then came home for a quick bite to eat before taking advantage of the Tate Modern being open late. This was a mistake, we are so not cool enough and boy were there some questionable pieces, but it was full of very trendy young things trying oh so hard to be cool. We were pleased to get home and thankfully it had stopped raining. On the whole a very big day. The brick picture shows one of the pieces at the Tate.