London!

I’m treating myself to an early birthday trip and London has been on my list for a return visit and that’s where I am! In spite of the government shutdown I had zero issues getting through TSA or departing and landing on time. Starting out the trip smoothly. I was here a number of years ago but there is much I haven’t seen so I have a full agenda. So glad to see the red phone booths are still around - and some even have telephones in them!

I was successful taking the train into London from Heathrow, and then changing to two different Tube lines to get to my hotel. Public transit is the way to go! Reasonable and no fighting traffic. London has one of the best in the world and pretty easy to figure out if you can access your GPS on your phone. Since it’s a birthday trip I splurged and am staying at a fancier than usual hotel. I will post pictures later in the trip but I am just a 5 minute walk from Buckingham Palace! Swung by walking back to the hotel to wave to Charles and Camilla😂 That’s a very big house!

As usual I did not sleep on the overnight flight so arrived with less than my normal energy. For starters I am being so careful crossing every street. Looking left then right then left again because they drive on the opposite (wrong) side of the road and it’s very confusing. Hopefully tomorrow when I’m better rested my brain will adjust quickly so I don’t get hit, but I will continue to be vigilant. I had the Victoria and Albert Museum on my list for today and I did make it there.

It is called a museum of decorative arts, but it seems to me to be much more than that. Something for everyone! Furniture, glassware, clothing, jewelry, architecture, historical artifacts etc. And it’s free! They suggest making a donation but not required and no pressure. I was there for about three hours so definitely made a donation. I also walked in 5 minutes before one of the free highlights tours was starting. I love a good tour and this woman was excellent. An hour and she was so knowledgeable. She said one of their interns walked through the entire museum and every display wearing a pedometer and clocked 7.5 miles so lots to see. As usual I loved the architecture of the building itself. It was built as a museum but has had many additions added and I loved the blending of the old and new. Mostly because I’m glad they didn’t knock the old parts down.

An interior picture I love. Such a beautiful building🩷

And the old and new blended together.

There is a beautiful Dale Chihuly chandelier at the main entrance. Also another beautiful piece of his in the glass section of the museum.

This casket was made in 1180 for the relic of St Thomas Becket by Limoges. It is made of enamel, metal and wood. Really exquisite.

How about an original notebook from Leonardo da Vinci? They have that too!

I hadn’t eaten all day so got a bowl of tomato basil soup and a slice of pistachio carrot cake in their cafe. I didn’t get a picture of the food but look at the room I was eating it in!

It’s definitely fall here! Gorgeous leaves and really crisp air. Fall is my favorite.

That’s it for day one. I’m heading to bed as I have a full day planned for tomorrow. I’m on the lookout for the most posh bakery and picking up as many English sayings as possible😊