January 27 Sunday
Today we had a later start, and the weather was not cooperating. It was a cold and drizzly Sunday. Our plan was to go to the Knightsbridge/Kensington area to see the sites. We rode the tube to Knightsbridge and followed the signs for Harrod’s, where we thought we would eat at the Harrod's Cafe. There are numerous places to eat in Harrod’s. I thought this looked good, but it was only okay. The feature there is the “braffle,” combo brioche and waffle, served many ways, including Benedict. When we got there I decided to get the croque monsieur instead —again it was okay. Rob got a tuna sandwich, also just okay. Harrod’s is an enormous store, but the highlight for us was the Egyptian escalators — so beautiful. The whole store is actually really beautiful, if a bit confusing to get around. We were not really in the mood for shopping, so we continued on down Brompton Street to the V&A museum, another free museum in London.
The V&A was really busy, but that was not a problem. We made our way to the Cast Courts. The cast collection is a dramatic expression of Victorian ambition, and the strongest embodiment of the museum's founding mission as a school of art education for both practitioners and the public. At a time when travel was difficult, the Courts brought copies of art and architecture from around the globe together under one roof, offering an encyclopaedia of international decorative styles. Collecting reproductions reached the height of popularity in the mid to late 19th century. We especially admired the David (from Florence) and Trajan’s column (from Rome, displayed in halves — too tall for the museum). This area is so unique and always fun to view. We wandered into a few other exhibits, but nothing was too interesting to us with the exception of the tapestries, which were amazing.
We left after a while and walked north to see the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Monument. We thought we would continued walking but the weather was discouraging. So we went to the South Kensington tube stop (entered really FAR away from the actual station — super long walkway underground) and took the tube to Covent Garden. We walked through the stores (saw some really beautiful greeting cards) and then through the pedestrian only streets — charming as ever. We continued up Charing Cross Road to Old Compton Street, where we had a drink at Compton’s, an old (emphasis on old) gay bar. We didn’t stay long. It was a little gruesome, and there was nowhere to sit. Times change.
Then we walked back to the flat. Dinner tonight proved to be a challenge. It turns out many of the local restaurants are closed on Sundays. We found one called Bonnie Gull, a seafood place, that looked good, but when we got there, it turned out they were having a staff party that night. The staff were so apologetic and made us promise to return (which we wouldn’t be able to do, but we didn’t tell them that). So we went down two doors to a “gastro-pub” recommended by our VRBO host on Foley Street appropriately called Foley's. It turned out to be very good. I had fish and chips, which weren’t greasy, and Rob had two slices of roast beef with root vegetables that he quite liked. We also had a side of cauliflower in cheese sauce that the waitress was pushing — not too cheesy, thankfully. Then back to the flat for sleep.
The V&A was really busy, but that was not a problem. We made our way to the Cast Courts. The cast collection is a dramatic expression of Victorian ambition, and the strongest embodiment of the museum's founding mission as a school of art education for both practitioners and the public. At a time when travel was difficult, the Courts brought copies of art and architecture from around the globe together under one roof, offering an encyclopaedia of international decorative styles. Collecting reproductions reached the height of popularity in the mid to late 19th century. We especially admired the David (from Florence) and Trajan’s column (from Rome, displayed in halves — too tall for the museum). This area is so unique and always fun to view. We wandered into a few other exhibits, but nothing was too interesting to us with the exception of the tapestries, which were amazing.
We left after a while and walked north to see the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Monument. We thought we would continued walking but the weather was discouraging. So we went to the South Kensington tube stop (entered really FAR away from the actual station — super long walkway underground) and took the tube to Covent Garden. We walked through the stores (saw some really beautiful greeting cards) and then through the pedestrian only streets — charming as ever. We continued up Charing Cross Road to Old Compton Street, where we had a drink at Compton’s, an old (emphasis on old) gay bar. We didn’t stay long. It was a little gruesome, and there was nowhere to sit. Times change.
Then we walked back to the flat. Dinner tonight proved to be a challenge. It turns out many of the local restaurants are closed on Sundays. We found one called Bonnie Gull, a seafood place, that looked good, but when we got there, it turned out they were having a staff party that night. The staff were so apologetic and made us promise to return (which we wouldn’t be able to do, but we didn’t tell them that). So we went down two doors to a “gastro-pub” recommended by our VRBO host on Foley Street appropriately called Foley's. It turned out to be very good. I had fish and chips, which weren’t greasy, and Rob had two slices of roast beef with root vegetables that he quite liked. We also had a side of cauliflower in cheese sauce that the waitress was pushing — not too cheesy, thankfully. Then back to the flat for sleep.
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