Bjork in concert at the O2 (love!)
For some reason, I took the same trip to London three times before deciding to see something new. You won’t be reading here about Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, or the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. You definitely won’t be reading about Stonehenge, which is on my list of Why?
On my recent visit to London, I stayed with a friend on the South West side, so my list is designed for convenience of travel from there. I was by the Raynes Park train station, near Wimbledon, and the destinations listed below took 45 minutes to one hour to reach. London is a big city, so be prepared for long travel times. Trains, tube lines, and buses provide outstanding coverage.
1. Hampton Court (5 stars)
Built in the 1500s, this was the palace of Henry VIII. It’s remarkably well-preserved and dripping with history. The optional audio tour will refresh your history of Henry’s six wives and his break with the Catholic Church. Tour the medieval dining hall and the royal chapel. A series of kitchen rooms offers a rare look into food preparation of the day and excess of consumption. I spent three hours in Henry’s part of the palace and didn’t even make it to the newer, baroque side, and walked through just the part of the gardens open in winter.
2. Tate Modern (5 stars)
Some of Mark Rothko’s murals, designed for the Four Seasons in NYC
They have a top notch permanent collection – Rothko, Pollack, Krasner, Picasso, Degas’ Little Dancer, Kandinsky, Matisse – and fascinating rotating exhibits. Free admission(!) to the main collections and some of the exhibits. When I was there, exhibits included Olafur Eliasson‘s innovative projects, like his heartbreaking glacier melt series, Ed Ruscha, Helen Frankenthaler, and a Kara Walker fountain.
3. The Play That Goes Wrong/West End (4 stars)
Clever comedy about, you guessed it, the production of a play where everything goes wrong.
4. Food (5 stars)
Food is important to me. I was very happy in London. Wagamama and Pret a Manger are two excellent chains with headquarters in London. Find food from just about every part of the world there. I had delicious dim sum one day. I passed a Basque restaurant in the West End. I didn’t try it, but Basque is one of my favorite regions for eating. There were vegan options everywhere, even at fast food chains and in train stations, like the parsnip and kale soup I enjoyed at Waterloo station. I found easy access to fresh juices and plant-based milks for my coffee.
5. Victoria and Albert Museum (5 stars)
Ceramic staircase
The V&A is an expansive decorative arts museum. Wander the European rooms, Asian rooms, and others to find collections of silver, ceramics, furniture, clothing, musical instruments, sculpture, etc. etc. The Victorian cast courts housing reproductions of famous sculptures throughout the world were fascinating. There is a large Chihuly glass sculpture suspended over one of the lobbies. I spent a bit too much time in their interesting gift shop.
The sites that follow, I missed. They are on my list for next time I’m in London:
6. Dennis Severs’ house
The house was home to a Hugenot silk weaving family. Ten rooms are set up representing different eras between 1724-1912. These tours sell out, so book in advance.
7. Brick Lane
This is a funky, hip neighborhood that can be explored any time, but I’d like to coordinate my visit with their Sunday market.
8. Historic literary district of Bloomsbury
There was not enough time in my 5-day stay there!
A grabado artist’s work in progress
A plate ready for printing
Celebrating women artists as well
Sheepdog monitors a flower shop in Dinan, France
Antigua, Guatemala – a heavily touristed town, but full of splashes of color
Hillside around Pétion-Ville, Haiti
Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi’an, China
Curious girls at Adadi Mariam, Ethiopia
Sunrise at the top of Mount Sinai
Cuban Cowboy
Left to right: cousin Rachel, cousin Tammy, me (shot by Dani)
Flores, Guatemala
Farmer grows three colors of potatoes on an island in Lake Titicaca, Peru
Eastern Mountain Gorilla in Virunga Mountains – only 1,000 left in the world
Rwanda – dancers were waiting for us when we came down from the mountains
Fez, Morocco
Pedestrian passes a mosque in Egypt. That blue sky is NOT Photoshopped.
Old Havana, Cuba
I went into this shop looking for a small wooden carving of a couple. A couple of weeks later I came out with this sculpture of Les Danseurs. It is rather large. I should clarify that I did not carry it home myself. I was on a work trip and the artist told me he would be done in 1 week. He was not and I had my flight out. Luckily, another colleague from the U.S. stayed behind and he generously picked it up and transported it. I was expecting a tchotke, not a sculpture. Sean had to buy it its own new gym bag to get it back. Thank you, Sean 🙂
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