Florence and I

This is summer?

The oldest perfume shop in London

Amazing museum at the back with lots
of royal connections

Super star perfume lady who knew everything
about the history and scents

Couple arguing at Royal Academy
Summer Exhibition about which
painting to buy

One of my favs, a little bit of
inside / outside going on here

Royal Arcade

Important discovery - a chocolate schnauzer
 at choccywoccydoodah

Learning how to use a new type of marker

They call this summer? Rain. Wind. More Rain, Peak of sun. Rain. But a tourist must soldier on. My fav blog about all things London is taking me on a detour to Jerome St and the oldest perfume shop in London, Floris. 

The plan is to take a photo of the outside and move on, alas it is raining again. So in I go. Can I take a picture? Yes, madam go right ahead. Let me show your our little museum out the back. Now lets try some scents:

• White Rose, the favourite of Florence Nightingale  (there is even a letter in the museum from Florence saying thank you)
• The scent Queen Victoria wore on her wedding day
• This one is Ian Flemings favourite - it smells like Dad
• Now just move over a little bit, right smell this bubble bath, you are now standing in the same spot Marilyn Monroe did when she smelt this and immediately brought five bottles

My favourite is White Rose. What an experience. What a shop!

Now onto the main evert, the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy. The place is heaving, school kids, ladies who lunch, millionaires snapping up artworks - its all happening. Tracey Enim has done her usual half arsed effort, there is a new way to display photos, lots of video this year I wonder what the original trustees would say about including multimedia and plenty of great works to enjoy. This has to be the number one exhibition to do every summer in London.

Back outside is it raining? Just spitting so into Burlington Arcade out onto New Bond St and all the fancy shops. Diamonds, chocolates, high fashion, a rest at Sotherbys to watch the bidding, Liberty, Diseguel. My shoulders are getting sore from shopping bags but must push on. 

Time to get out the phone and use google maps to get me up to, Islington. I must be getting more acclimatised to London, I used to find the underground (tube) exciting. Now I just think it is hot, smelly and overcrowded. Though am still impressed by the frequency of services and love the masses of people. 

Right I have made it to my destination, its miserable, windy and cold I need a cup of tea. This place looks nice, whats that French music playing. How divine and look at the cakes. This must be the nicest cafe in the world - I feel like I am transported to Paris in the 20’s. (Later when I get home I find out this is one of Jane’s clients and they have plenty of other establishments to try out!)

Now I am off to art class. Bye.

30,000 bikes in one town

Today's headlines

Kings College

The pub where Crick and Watson announced they had discovered
 the 'secret of life' after they had come up with
 their proposal for the structure of DNA 

Pembroke College

The mesmerising roof in King College Chapel

Kings College Chapel windows 

Punting with my new friend from Brazil

Trinity College

Bridge of Sighs

Bikes everywhere

Today’s opening statement in the morning paper is;

“Westminster descended into a farce yesterday as internal struggles left both Tories and Labour lacking leadership in the aftermath of Brexit. In other news England had a humiliating defeat to Iceland in Euro Cup”

Its still all go with everyone talking Brexit.  On the streets, in trains, in cafes.... everywhere.

My adventure today was a wonderful trip to Cambridge, a university town with a long history. There was too much to write about so here is a few impressions:

• 30,000 students per year, they are not allowed to have cars so that means a lot of pushbikes zooming around
• more nobel laureates than any other university 60+ so far, splitting the atom, DNA, penicillin, x-rays, jet engine the list goes on and on
• the end of year ceremony is conducted in latin, except for two sentences: switch off your mobiles and don’t take photos
• the end of year exploits are legendary (see end of this article - http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/13-cambridge-things-happened/story-24837114-detail/story.html)
• Kings College Chapel is the most impressive place, 100 years to build, 5 kings and 4 master masons, all perpendicular gothic the roof is mesmerising

I must share one story about a non descript house on Free School Lane. The guide stopped here because of the Aussies in the group. When is there not Aussies in a tour group I would like to know?  This is the house where Alice lived. When she was 9, a distant cousin came to visit. 

Alice’s mother asked him when are you going to marry? 

He said, alas no-one wants to marry me. 

Alice said, I will marry you (and was promptly ignored)

10 years later he returned to say goodbye as he was leaving for Australia.

Alice’s mother asked him when are you going to marry? 

He said, alas no-one wants to marry me. 

Alice said, I will marry you (and did)

They moved to Adelaide, his name was Charles Todd a pioneer who built the telegraph between Adelaide and Darwin and named Alice Springs after his wife. Now thats a good story. 

Thanks to Rick Steves clearing up the Oxford v's Cambridge debate and pointing me towards Cambridge as best for a day trip. My recipe for a perfect day is:

• walking tour to see the main sites 
• punting on the river for a different view point
• explore the Fitzwilliam museum with the handy highlights app

A palace of genius, fancy and taste

Its raining. The trains are late. I am sitting waiting for an Edgware train to get to Chalk Farm, but all the trains are going to High Barnett. I am reading a booklet on poems of the underground when a voice from the heavens announces, “ladies and gentlemen wishing to travel on the Edgware line please go to Camden Town and change”. Ah, so thats how I get there. I assume the security team had seen me sitting there whilst all the trains where going by and put an each way bet that I wanted to go to Edgeware. Lucky they did not say “hey, you dopey in the Banksy t-shirt - get on the next train or you will be waiting all day”.

The train whisks me away and I am here, amongst it all in Camden. Being Monday morning its not heaving with people and I can shop in peace and snap up all the goodies I wanted. Now its onwards to do my civic duty.

The city mapper app takes me directly to Australia House on the Strand. With all the other Aussies I run the gauntlet of pamphlet wavers and security team and I am in. I have wanted to check out the inside of this building for ages, but being Australian does not mean you are allowed in the Aussie Embassy. You have to be ‘doing business’ to be admitted. So thats why I decided to vote whilst here rather than before my trip. Fill out forms, wait in lines, get to my booth, now I can check it out. All marble and chandeliers, the stunning marble interior was used as Gringott's Wizarding Bank in the Harry Potter movies.

Righto, lets hot foot it up to Holborn station and get across to the Wallace Collection in time for the tour. The sun is now shining so time for a M&S sandwich and smoothie. There she is my partner in crime walking up the street. Time to go in and be amazed at all the art and collections. So beautiful set inside a mansion, my favourite bit has to be Madame de Pompadour portrait and bedroom furniture. Glad we did the tour and learnt all the funny and interesting stories about how the collection was built and the significance of different time periods and pieces. My non existent French history has now expanded!

P.S. The title is a quote from the British PM, Benjamin Disraeli entry in the visitors book of the Wallace Collection in the 19th century.

Two creative geniuses

Artists at work on Clare Twomey piece 

Nice backyard

Who are these silly tourists trying to
solve the puzzle

Handy tube line, creative genius at either end.

THE mural by Jimmy C (an Aussie)

Non gentrified Brixton

Happening Brixton

Hamburgers, a nice Sunday night treat

Brexit is still the big topic. This classic was quoted in Time Out as one of the most ridiculous things they’ve overheard in London this week.

"If we leave the EU will we still have Nando’s?"

But we have other things to focus on as we have arrived at the William Morris Gallery. William being one of our all time favourite creators, we visited one of his other houses last year. This house is where he lived as a young boy and is now a museum. Its a Georgian house set in a lovely park with each room dedicated to a section of William’s life, from family, to books to socialism. 

The best bit is the artist in residence, the brainchild of Clare Twomey. They have embellished on 68 tiles one of William’s designs.  Over 68 days masters and apprentices apply gold leaf and create a unique art work. Clare’s focus for the work is on the process during the creation of art. She has worked on a lot of other interesting projects, one involved making cups using traditional methods and then each person who received a cup had to sign a legally binding document to keep the cup forever. I have applied to be an apprentice for the day lets see if it works out for one of the days I am here!

Now its time to get back on the Victoria line and go right to the other end, Brixton. The Victoria line is noisy and old but has wonderful tile motifs at each station, my favourite is hard to pick, but I think I will have to settle on the Warren Street maze. As the challenge is to solve the puzzle in 3 minutes, the time between trains. Can we do it? Where does it start, at the top, what are those triangles? Blocked again, no go left, no up. This path is working, this way, that way. Yes we did it! Back onto the train we hop and keep heading for Brixton.

Where is our second creative genius for the day, we are walking up the steps from the underground, trying to figure out which way to go and voila, its straight across the road! A beautiful mural of David Bowie done by and Australian artist, Jimmy C. Much photo snapping to do here. Jane have you got my best angle? What about this pose? She has the patience of a saint. Now I think its time to head for home, but Jane has other ideas and off we go to Electric Avenue. Now Bristol Markets. Now shops! Every (young) girl I have seen since touching down at Heathrow is wearing african style head scarfs and now I am too. 

Jane is hyperventilating, what can she see? Is it David Bowie, no that can’t be right. Is it a shop we like? No. What, what, what I can’t see it. Look up!!! Oh my, its an invader. Score that 50pts thank you! 

Brixton today is a pretty amazing place, massive old worn out buildings that must have been palatial in the 1880’s, downright dodgy areas from the big migrant population that started with the Caribbean's post WW2 and gentrification that is creeping in (much to the dismay of the locals). Every nationality was on the street - except maybe Aussies. 

Time for bed, so tired….. I have a song worm in my head. Oh no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue….. Oh no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue…..

Saturday is THE best day in London

Full flight, running late 

Over the English Channel

Mary Smith, political correspondant

Emerging at Leicester Square 

London Pride, lights all changed
around Trafalgar Square

Quiet in the National Gallery compared to outside

Outside, hello Nelson and London Pride

Stik, one of my fav London artists

This bobbie's partner wanted us to kiss for the
 photo, I politely declined

Back together!

Just as we are about to take off the guy next to me gets a photo from his friend enjoying an impromptu street party outside Boris Johnsons house, the FTSE drops 7% and David Cameron resigns. Its all happening in London town. We get to Dubai and the FTSE has dropped 12%. Where will it by the time we get to London?

Will this flight ever end? How long is the line into UK border? Finally I can fall into the waiting arms of Mary and Jeff and off we set to Ladywell Lodge. Jeff expertly guides us through the Saturday morning traffic whilst political correspondent Mary Smith fills me in on all things Brexit and we catch up on family news. 

Its time to setup base camp but there is no dilly dallying I have brought the sunshine and am keen to join the crowds on my fav day of the week in London. Saturday. First job is too add a weekly to my Oyster card. Done. Now to navigate, train, tube change at Green Park, tube, emerge into the masses at Leicester Square. Happy.  Covent Garden beckons. 

I have a bit of spare time before I met Jane so which shop will I go to first. I know Radley, the font of all things in beautiful leather with dog designs added. Look there is a sale on, oh ahhhh. Who’s that saying hello to me. Its Jane! She is early and used her psychic powers to find where I would be! Now the fun can really begin.

Off we go for a late lunch in the sunshine, national art gallery, shops, tea and cake, more shops, say hello to Nelson at Trafalgar Square, see thousands of happy revellers at the pride rally, get caught in the rain and have an all round lovely catchup.  Perfect day. Time for bed. 

P.S. Never did find out what happened with the financial markets, all seems highly irrelevant now that I am in holiday mode.

London calling.....

Everyone always ask what camera I use,
so here it is a Nikon AW130

Kiss, kiss, bye bye Rosco

I am under strict instructions NOT to bring
home any more t-shirts like this.
I think it is a lovely T-shirt???????

The headlines this morning read “Thunderstorms and flash floods cause chaos across Britain”. That sounds like a good time to get on a plane and go for 2 weeks holidays doesn’t it?

Yes, I am off into my fav city again - London. Two weeks of soaking up history, exploring and hanging out with Jane. Pretty excited to take a break from reality!

Now its time to hop on the plane, get settled into my little cocoon for 24 hours and emerge on the other side rested and ready to enjoy. My instructions once settled at Ladywell Lodge are to meet Jane in front of the Apple Store in Covent Garden. How divine!