Sublime Observations

 

One evening when I was walking to dinner near my hotel in London, some movement up high on this building caught my eye.

I wondered what I was seeing hanging from that open window.  I zoomed in and saw that a bird feeder was hanging from the window and two lovely, green parakeets were feasting on those seeds.

That same evening when I was near the restaurant, I spotted this cute fellow observing what was happening below him from a balcony.  

A few seconds later, he spotted me so I said "hello".  He didn't reply but I did see some tail wagging happening.  

Cute things like this make me smile.  

Theme Day: Vanishing Point

 I love taking photos with a "vanishing point" and I have many in my archives.  Finding one I hadn't posted before was the challenge for me.  It looks like this one might fit the bill.  I took this a few years ago on drive out to Fountain Hills, the town just east of Scottsdale.  I remember seeing this long stretch of desert road and no one else on it so I stopped, went out to the center of the road and snapped the shot low to the ground.  The road just vanishes out there somewhere.

To see other bloggers Vanishing Points, click here.

Flowers Across the Pond

 

I made it home safe and mostly sound.  The long flight and strange hours has me feeling a little dazed at the moment.  Since I don't have anything new to report from the Phoenix area, I thought I post a few photos I took over the past two weeks of the beautiful flowers I saw everywhere in London.  

Because of our extreme heat here in the desert, we don't see flowers at every turn.

In London, they are everywhere.  

I will certainly miss seeing so many all around me. 

Goodbye London

 

By the time I left my hotel room on Friday, it had stopped raining and it looked like it might clear up.  So, I took advantage and took another long walk.  I just sort of wandered a bit taking streets I hadn't taken before.  That's how I came across this grand looking building. The sign above the door says "College of Arms" and I had no idea what that meant.  Apparently they are responsible for the granting of new coats of arms and they maintain a registry of arms, pedigrees, Royal Licenses and a whole lot more.  

I also walked past this pub that looks like it might have been called the Blackfriars at one time.  See the friar standing above the door.

Across from the pub I saw this man and horse adorning the side of building.  I don't know what that building was but the horse statue looks very dramatic.

I also got some good views of some of those glass buildings that are filling the skyline of The City.

There is a lot of glass in this group.  

It's been a fun and educational two weeks.  I'll see you all again from home sweet home.

Fabulous Art and a Little Shopping

 

I started my day with a visit to the Courtauld Gallery which is located in Somerset House pictured above.  I had never been to this place before and I have to admit the building alone was extremely impressive.  

The art was pretty impressive too.  Like this Renior.

This was one of many Cezannes they had on display.  

And there were a few very impressive Van Gogh's.  

I'm so glad I saw this exhibit.  

After the exhibit, I decided to do a bit of shopping.  Friday is my last full day in London and it's supposed to rain all day so I thought I'd do my shopping on Thursday.  I stopped at Hatchards Book store just to look around.  I didn't buy any books to take home but I did pick up a few greeting cards.

I also stopped at Fortnum and Mason's, one of my favorite places to browse around.  They had all the windows covered getting ready for the elaborate holiday displays they always do.  

I also had dessert at a place called Cakes & Bubbles, the creation of Albert Adria.  He was named the world's best pastry chef.  A chef I know from Phoenix mentioned him one time so I decided to try one of his creations.  It was called a Chocolate and Cherry Tart and it was heavenly.  

Two Churches and a Financial District

 

I wanted to experience the new Elizabeth Tube Line so I studied where it went and decided to take it out to Canary Wharf, the gleaming new financial district for London.  I loved the Elizabeth line.  Everything was so clean and quiet.  

Canary Wharf was a bit of a shock.  I hadn't been there for around 10 years and wow, had it changed.  there were more buildings, more shops and more things to see.  And, I think I saw buildings for every big American bank as well as some European ones.

After spending a few hours at the newness of Canary Wharf, I headed back into the city and made a stop at the truly 'old' St. Bartholomew the Great Church.  I hadn't visited this church for over 10 years.  One of my favorite photos was taken at this church on my first visit all those years ago.  This church dates back to 1123 and it has survived a ransacking in 1543 and the great fire in 1666.  It's a true survivor.  

After visiting St. Bartholomew, I walked to St. Paul's and decided to pay the admission fee to have a look inside.  It's been probably 20 years since I visited the inside of this church.

Just as I remembered, the beauty of the place is striking.  They were playing some organ music that was quite relaxing so I stayed inside for a while listening to the music and admiring the beauty of the place.

To top off my evening, I returned to a Greek restaurant that I had visited last week.  I was surprised that I was greeted with a "welcome back" and a friendly welcome.  What a warm and lovely place with great food and a feeling like you are part of the family.  The restaurant is called Apollo and the owners and staff made me feel right at home.

A Day of Art & Grand Views

 

On Tuesday, my friend Dave and I went to the Tate Britain, one of my favorite museums anywhere.

We saw room after room of wonderful art and I love the way they arranged the rooms with a theme in mind.  

Here's a puzzle for you.  One of the docents told us to be sure to look at the clock in one of the galleries.  I wondered what could be worth mentioning about a clock.  It took me a minute.  What do you think, can you tell what time it was?

The Tate Britain has the largest collection of JMW Turner paintings anywhere else in the world.  A stroll through the Turner galleries is always a treat.

My friends Julie and Dave leave on Wednesday so for their last night in London, we chose Oblix at the top of "The Shard".  The views were spectacular.  I had never been up close to that building before so it was a treat to finally enter the building.

The restaurant is on the 32nd floor and wraps half way around the building.  We were lucky to have such clear weather enhancing the views.

On the taxi ride back to the hotel, I managed to snap a not too bad photo of St. Pauls Cathedral right out the taxi window.

Palace Tour

 

We took the Buckingham Palace tour on Monday which was a first for me.  They only do the tours in the summer months and I usually only travel in the fall.  The tour started with an exhibit in the King's Gallery. It was all about the Edwardian age and it included paintings and objects from that time period.  Above is painting of Queen Victoria and her family.

To the left is a Wedgwood container that caught my eye.  I love Wedgwood.

This gallery was the most elaborate with huge portraits of both English royalty and royalty from Denmark and other countries.

After the gallery we visited the Royal Mews and saw an impressive array of royal coaches.  This state coach is by far the most elaborate one.

There is certainly a lot of Bling on this coach!

Then we toured the inside of Buckingham Palace however, photos inside were not allowed so the only photos I have are of the outside.  This is the back side of the palace that leads out to the garden.  It was interesting to see the different rooms in the palace but I will once again say something about the crowds.  It was packed with people making it hard to see things.  

Monday's dinner was at the Savoy, a luxurious hotel that I had never set foot in before.  It's beautiful inside and out.  Dinner was delicious!  I don't usually indulge in such fancy meals when I travel alone.  I have to thank my friends Julie and Dave for this opportunity to try some special places.

The British Museum

 

My friend Dave and I spent the day at the British Museum.  When we made plans for the 5 days they are here, we weren't thinking about the summer crowds.  On top of this being vacation time, today was also Sunday.  It was crazy busy.  I don't think I've ever been there when it was this busy.  

In spite of the crowds, we covered a lot of ground in the museum and I made it to at least three rooms I had never visited before.  The bowl above is tin-glazed earthenware that dates back to 1641.

Of course, I visited some old favorites like the Lewis Chessmen and the Sutton Hoo artifacts.  

The doors were open to the big reading room so I got to see the beautiful interior.  The reading room is the center part in the top photo.  

I was surprised to see this bowl created by Diego Romero of Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico.  That was truly an unexpected find.  Not everything in the museum is ancient.  

This is of course just a teeny, tiny example of what can be found in the British Museum.  It's one of those places you can visit over and over and over and still not see it all.

As I walked my very tired legs back to the hotel, I passed through Russel Square where I got a perfect glimpse of my hotel through the trees.

Grand Homes and Fine Dining

 

My friends Julie and Dave and I started the day with a tour of Apsley House, the former home of the Duke of Wellington.

The Duke was quite the collector.  We saw vast amounts of paintings and some pretty incredible silver pieces.  One room was set aside as a museum and housed lots of things that were given to the Duke in appreciation of his service to the country.

After that we walked across the street to get a closer look at the Wellington Arch, another tribute to this great man.

On our way to lunch we passed another old church and decided to take a peek inside. It was another beautiful building to admire.

Then we had lunch in a proper English pub where the food was served to us with just as much pizazz and artistry as any high end restaurant.  

We topped off the day with dinner at the restaurant that currently resides inside the Michelin House building.

The stained glass windows in the restaurant pay tribute to Bibendum, the jolly Michelin Man.