As summer turns to fall—the so-called “quiet season”—there’s usually a gap period between major exhibitions. In Britain, many seem to close mid-September, new ones opening later in the month. Last week, on a two-day trip to London, I made the most of what was available, and there was still an abundance. When I lived in this city, as a student (late 70‘s - early 80‘s), many of these venues, exhibits, and activities didn’t exist (or weren’t open to the public)!  Wow! Nor, did the traffic…

Here are some of the high- (and low-) lights—and recommendations—from my whistle stop tour:

DAY ONE

• Tate Modern
No feature exhibit, but great to experience the building, ambiance, and other collections.  Would have liked to have taken the bridge connecting to the other side of the Thames, or the boat to the Tate Britain.  Maybe next time!

• Garden Museum, Lambeth
Quaint, but not as remarkable as anticipated from write-ups. Likely, nicer to coincide a visit with their events and lectures. Pleasant surprise: vegetarian restaurant’s pineapple and banana cake is yummy! Also, from here, I made a little detour towards and along the Thames, noticing newer attractions like the London Eye Ferris Wheel.

• Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
An absolute must-see!  Even for those not interested in war, the history, memorabilia and presentation are excellent. Lots to think about, marvel over, and learn from! Also, note the "green" lunch delivery service at an adjacent government building:-)

• Thames Circular Cruise
Disappointing. Supposed to be an hour, but little more than 40 minutes. And, with no commentary, it was hard to know what all the sites and details were. Would have been nice to hear some local tales and history. Too bad the driver was busy texting…and not always looking!  Maybe during off-season efforts wain?

• Big Ben
Always there. Ever powerful, from every angle.  Wonderfully restored and in its 150th anniversary year (1859 - 2009)!

• Trafalgar Square Exhibits
Anthony Gormely’s One and Other was unimpressive.  Participants are not as high off the ground as imagined, if you walk the perimeter of the square.  I arrived at a “changing of the guard.”  Travel to the North of England (Mersey River’s Crosby Beach) to see a much more remarkable work by Gormley, the Another Place Figures.

The London Design Festival’s Centrepiece Chess Board was drawing a healthy crowd.

• Noel Coward Theatre, Calendar Girls
Lovely theater and easy to buy a last-minute upper balcony ticket at the door, prior to performance, then have a seat upgrade to the stalls!  Poor attendance for what, to me, seemed to work better as a movie then a play. Jerry Hall being in the cast was a plus, but not enough to keep me from dozing off. Long day!

DAY TWO

• Natural History Museum and Darwin Centre
The new Darwin Centre is incredible. Next time, hope to make it into the Cocoon!  Just caught the end of the Butterfly Jungle exhibit. Love the architecture and design of the original historic buildings. Just seeing and being in them is a great experience in itself.  Same goes for the V and A (next paragraph, below).

• Victoria and Albert Museum, London Design Festival, Sackler Centre
A great collaboration. Two (or three) for the price of one—in fact, no price. Each were free (and easy)!  Please check the heart artifact I had the opportunity to make during a London Design Festival activity, the Shape of My Heart (close up image at the start of this post can be found on the official Heart site as well). The Sackler Centre is a wonderful addition and resource—helps bring the museum (and beyond) to life!  As an undergrad, I spent many hours in the V and A library. No Sackler Centre then!  Also managed to catch the Telling Tales exhibit!

• Saatchi Gallery
Being a Saatchi on-line Gallery artist, I was very curious to see this new beyond cyber space venue. What an accomplishment!  It’s also interesting to note the setting, close to Sloane Square:  a luxe and lovely part of town!  Then there’s the school playing field and track just in front of it, full of little people enjoying gym classes.

• Kensington Palace and Gardens… and The Last Debutantes
1958, the year focused on by the palace’s feature exhibit was a significant time for me. I was about to come into being, but not as a debutante:-)  An interesting era with a lot of attention to detail, etiquette, couture, and culture.  Precious and lacking today!  Lucky with the weather. A glorious season to be outside there:  the swans and geese were plump and abundant, preening in the glow of an autumn dusk.

• Hyde Park and Princess Diana Fountain
You can get lost here.  But on a beautiful autumn evening, and if you’ve got the time, that’s okay…  The signage isn’t evident everywhere.  To find the Diana Fountain, down by the Serpentine, far from the Diana Playground, wasn’t easy (at least for me). The Fountain, itself, I thought, was disappointing—looked to me like a series of drain outlets: some flowing well, others not.  No adornment and nothing remarkable. I could, of course, have been missing something?

Royal park dog poop bins were neat and official looking. Could do with similar around Toronto:-)

 

CITY TRANSPORTATION

Wondering how I got around?  Via the Oyster travel card.  Worth the investment, but please be advised to take the tube for speed, buses if you’ve got all the time in the world… The Number 10 bus (from Hyde Park to Euston) took 1 hour and 15 mins! Oxford Street is particularly slow and congested (especially at rush hour) and there are easier ways to cross it…  Missed my train!  Nice that Euston Station now has such an amazing selection of take-out eateries!  Prête à Manger won out for me. Delicious advocado wrap!

A beautiful visit, like a beautiful butterfly (from the Natural History Exhibit):  too short-lived but very memorable.

 

Earlier posts about London on this blog include:

• LONDON Landmarks Change (March 2, 2008)
• Green LONDON: from Pink Cabs to Green Attitude (February 27, 2008)
• Taxi, Taxi! LONDON’S Colorful Cabbies (February 25, 2008)
• Sentimental and Historical London—A Quick Guide (October 7, 2007)