Last Friday I went to London. One of my favourite things about taking the train to London is that the train company’s brand colour is pink and benches and other station furniture is painted pink. :-)
Obligatory shot of a tube train. They don’t exclusively travel underground, in the more suburb-y areas they are overground.
I went to London to meet with bloggy/crafty pal, Laura and we started the day at Tibits (a vegetarian/vegan restaurant off Regent Street) with a hot beverage. There was a heart on my hot chocolate. :-)
And then we set off exploring Mayfair. Laura came prepared with a map and a list of small galleries so we had a wander around to check out some of those while chatting about this and that, especially blogging and running a crafty biz of course.
But first we strolled along Savile Row (with all its posh bespoke tailors). An awesome thing about this street is that you can look down to the basement and see the workshops with actual pattern pieces on the work tables and scraps of fabric on the floor.
We walked through Burlington Arcade and the Royal Arcade. Full of lovely architectural details.
This being Mayfair, of course there was plenty of expensive shop windows to look at. I especially liked these at Boucheron and Hermes. Check out the shoes made into ships in the Hermes window. Fun!
In the Halcyon Gallery we came across an exhibition of Dale Chihuly’s glass sculptures. The same one who made the fabulous glass chandelier at the V&A. The exhibition is free and it’s on until the start of April, so do pop in if you’re in the area!
London was looking rather splendid in the sun – although it was still a pretty chilly day. And I had to take pictures of these blooms. I love these first signs of spring. :-)
In Hanover Street we spotted this fabulous building. Check out the concertina shutters that close off the windows/balconies. Awesome.
We popped into The Photographers’ Gallery for a refreshment – I had never heard of this place before, definitely going to come back. It’s just a stone’s throw from Liberty.
Then it was just a short walk past Carnaby Street (funky green lights!) to Piccadilly Circus to take the tube. With a quick stop in Whole Foods for a few vegan bits that my local supermarkets don’t stock.
All in all, a lovely day. I highly recommend exploring London on foot and I’m already planning on doing more of just that. :-)