5 days in London: a travel journal and 10 tips.
DAY 1:
On the first full day we went to see the fabulous exhibition "David Bowie Is" in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Every aspect in the career of this talented artist was displayed (costumes, painting, lyric sheets, where he gets his inspiration etcetera). I love how the exhibition was put together.
Tip 1: If you travel by Eurostar train to London, you'll get a 2 for 1 discount at the Bowie exhibit, when showing your train ticket.
Tip 2: We were in line for 45 minutes, you then can buy a ticket for a later timeslot. But there is also a possibility to book your tickets on line in advance via the V&A website.
Tip 3: The V&A is free (but for special exhibitions), and would be perfect to spend a rainy day in London. While waiting for our timeslot we walked to the top floors to see the variety/entertainment/theatre costumes. Among other I saw Adam Ant's Prince Charming, but also well known costumes from cabaret and musicals.
For Tuesday evening we had tickets to see Elvis Costello in the Royal Albert Hall.
Tip 4: Don't book seats on the upper ring if you are afraid of heights. It's quite a steep plunge to look into.
The hall has the best acoustic I ever heard. What a perfect sound!
DAY 2:
Another very sunny day! After a walk through Kensington and Hyde Park, we took the Underground (alight at Liverpool Street) to Brick Lane. This upcoming area has a lot of cute vintage shops and Asian food.
Tip 5: If you go on a Sunday there is also a vintage market.
Tip 6: At the end of Brick Lane (no. 202) is the Full Stop Bar: very friendly people and lovely cosy retro furniture, that makes you feel comfortable and at ease right away.
DAY 3:
Even more sun! And where better to spend such a sunny day than in Kew Gardens!
Tip 7: Don't go on the Tree Top Walk if there are 3 school classes of children going up as well. The Tree Top Walk is already pretty wobbly, and they manage to make it wobble even more!
DAY 4:
Covent Garden: a bit of window shopping, a bit of real shopping and getting inspired. But we don't stop at the massive expensive chain stores.
Tip 8: I saw some fabulous jewellery at Tatty Devine (44 Monmouth Street): very cool lasercut designs (also in neon colours).
After Covent garden and Seven Sisters we crossed the Thames to the Southbank.
Tip 9: This summer there are cabaret/variety shows at the London Wonderground. Check their website for details!
DAY 5:
Back home. In the morning I already saw on FB that June 8th is World Wide Knit In Public Day. I had noticed that people in the Underground either read or listen to music. In our 5 days in London I have not seen anyone else knit in the Underground. So I noticed some curious looks in my direction when I was knitting.
In St Pancras itself there was even a knit workshop organised. I had no time to stop there, but my knitting continued on the Eurostar, and the Belgian and Dutch trains.
Tip 10:If you want to knit in public transport it's easiest to knit on a circular needle. For one you take up less space and have less chance on bothering the person next to you. Secondly, if you have to change trains several times, you can hold your knitting together, even if you are halfway a row. So there's less risk on dropping stitches.
You can find more and some larger format photos are on my Flickr page.
On the first full day we went to see the fabulous exhibition "David Bowie Is" in the Victoria & Albert Museum. Every aspect in the career of this talented artist was displayed (costumes, painting, lyric sheets, where he gets his inspiration etcetera). I love how the exhibition was put together.
Tip 1: If you travel by Eurostar train to London, you'll get a 2 for 1 discount at the Bowie exhibit, when showing your train ticket.
Tip 2: We were in line for 45 minutes, you then can buy a ticket for a later timeslot. But there is also a possibility to book your tickets on line in advance via the V&A website.
Tip 3: The V&A is free (but for special exhibitions), and would be perfect to spend a rainy day in London. While waiting for our timeslot we walked to the top floors to see the variety/entertainment/theatre costumes. Among other I saw Adam Ant's Prince Charming, but also well known costumes from cabaret and musicals.
For Tuesday evening we had tickets to see Elvis Costello in the Royal Albert Hall.
Tip 4: Don't book seats on the upper ring if you are afraid of heights. It's quite a steep plunge to look into.
The hall has the best acoustic I ever heard. What a perfect sound!
DAY 2:
Another very sunny day! After a walk through Kensington and Hyde Park, we took the Underground (alight at Liverpool Street) to Brick Lane. This upcoming area has a lot of cute vintage shops and Asian food.
Tip 5: If you go on a Sunday there is also a vintage market.
Tip 6: At the end of Brick Lane (no. 202) is the Full Stop Bar: very friendly people and lovely cosy retro furniture, that makes you feel comfortable and at ease right away.
DAY 3:
Even more sun! And where better to spend such a sunny day than in Kew Gardens!
Tip 7: Don't go on the Tree Top Walk if there are 3 school classes of children going up as well. The Tree Top Walk is already pretty wobbly, and they manage to make it wobble even more!
DAY 4:
Covent Garden: a bit of window shopping, a bit of real shopping and getting inspired. But we don't stop at the massive expensive chain stores.
Tip 8: I saw some fabulous jewellery at Tatty Devine (44 Monmouth Street): very cool lasercut designs (also in neon colours).
After Covent garden and Seven Sisters we crossed the Thames to the Southbank.
Tip 9: This summer there are cabaret/variety shows at the London Wonderground. Check their website for details!
DAY 5:
Back home. In the morning I already saw on FB that June 8th is World Wide Knit In Public Day. I had noticed that people in the Underground either read or listen to music. In our 5 days in London I have not seen anyone else knit in the Underground. So I noticed some curious looks in my direction when I was knitting.
In St Pancras itself there was even a knit workshop organised. I had no time to stop there, but my knitting continued on the Eurostar, and the Belgian and Dutch trains.
Tip 10:If you want to knit in public transport it's easiest to knit on a circular needle. For one you take up less space and have less chance on bothering the person next to you. Secondly, if you have to change trains several times, you can hold your knitting together, even if you are halfway a row. So there's less risk on dropping stitches.
You can find more and some larger format photos are on my Flickr page.
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