Jour 14, 11 mai 2024

 After much discussion last night, we chose to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum this morning. Because we didn't have the same interests, we separated upon entering and met up for lunch.

Carole and I enjoyed a second coffee, before going to see Laughing Matters: The State of a Nation. This exhibition reflects on the role of humor in debates around identity, empire and power over the past two hundred years. We also saw the design room, from 1900 to the present. On our way, we passed many other rooms that caught our attention. Dominique and Nicole went alone to visit the parts they most wanted to see.

We visited for about 2 hours and then went to lunch. We were lucky enough to have a table outside, watching the little kids playing in the water.

After lunch we went into Kensington Garden to see the always impressive Albert Memorial and Kensington Palace, home of Diana and Charles during their married years.  We stayed in the park for a while. Nicole went to do the plant maze.

We took the bus to Harrods. There were a lot of people. I didn't like it very much.

We then got lost in Belgravia before arriving at the Thomas Cubitt Pub. It was now 5 p.m. and aperitif time.  Do we look exhausted ?  It was time we sit for awhile.

We walked back to Waitrose to buy our dinner and returned home just past it.

This evening, Dominique cooked pasta with rosé sauce. I made the arugula salad with a Granny Smith apple. It was a delight. It was another sunny day in 19996 steps. (When I climb the stairs to my room, we will exceed 20,000 steps).

jour 13, 10 mai 2024

 Dominique had booked a ticket for the Tower of London. We went with her to choose a meeting place for lunch. At the Tower, we separated. As she went in to visit the Tower, we went to see the Royal Exchange. It was a first visit for me. I found it interesting, especially for the exterior view, with all the buildings around. Formerly, it was a place of transactions for London merchants and traders, who previously carried out their commercial transactions on the street or in shops. Since 1939, there have been offices there and on the ground floor, chic boutiques and bars.

The steps of the Royal Exchange are where certain royal proclamations (such as the dissolution of Parliament) are read.

We came back to find Dominique in Pret near the Tower. We had a great lunch (my salad was so delicious!)

After lunch we crossed Tower Bridge and walked the south path to Hays Gallery. I wanted to show other sculptures by Gillie and Mark to my friends, but they were removed when the exhibition in London ended on May 7th.

We followed our path to The Shard. The view from the bottom is impressive. We didn't want to pay to go up to the 72nd floor, but the doorman suggested we take the elevator to the bar on the 32nd floor. Well, it was high enough to get a great view of London.

We returned mid-afternoon to Chelsea. Before heading home, we visited the Saatchi Gallery. The Saatchi Gallery presents contemporary art exhibitions showcasing the work of emerging artists. We saw an exhibition called: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS (A celebration of Dutch and female artists) and another called SOFIA LASKARI: BODY AND FLESH.

The last room we visit showed a transformations of familiar objects through sculptural practice, prompting us to question our perception of the physical world.

We came home and relaxed on our little patio with a glass of dew. Nicole offered us small starters to accompany our aperitif. (the delicious pâté she bought yesterday, served on a baguette).

This evening, Nicole prepared our dinner: salmon, potatoes and vegetables.

There is 4 women enjoying London !

A cool sunny day of 15432 steps.

Amendment  : We walked around our neighborhood to see the thinner house in London.  We now have 20284 steps on the clock! 

Jour 12, 9 mai 2024

 We started our day a little earlier than yesterday. We went to The Strand to take the bus to St Paul's Cathedral. No one wanted to take the tour, so we went into the courtyard to take a break and look at Mark and Gillie's sculptures. Chairs were offered to the public to simply relax.

There was also an exhibition of luxury electric cars. Nicole and Dominique were particularly interested.

We crossed the Millennium Bridge to reach the Tate Modern, where we all decided to visit the Yoko Ono exhibition. It was a great exhibition covering his art from start to finish. Yoko Ono was multidisciplinary long before meeting John Lennon (film, painting, installation, poetry, etc.). Of course, she wouldn't have been as famous without him, but on her own, she was an original artist.  We didn't expect such a big exhibition. It took us about an hour and a half to visit all the rooms.

We made a wish and hang it in a tree.

Carole traced the outline of Dominique and Nicole, from their shadow.

Carole participated in the creation of a work by hammering a nail into it.

We tried to play chess, with a completely white game.

There was this bleu room, where every one was invited to create.

After the exhibition it was lunch time so we went to the cafe area of ​​the museum.

We followed our route to Borought Market. Along the way we stopped to buy souvenirs.  Nicole met this nice lady.

Borough Market was crowded, as always. We had the pleasure of tasting cheese and pâté. The pâté was so good that Nicole bought some for an aperitif at home.

After Borought Market we crossed London Bridge and went to Leaden Hall Market for a beer. It was full of gentlemen in smart suits, chatting with beers in hand.

Dominique knows how to go down a spiral staircase with elegance.

We came back with the tube, just to relax for a while before going to the pub for our traditional fish and chips.

We decided to take a walk before heading home. We walked for about 45 minutes. We returned for the first time after sunset.  That give us the opportunity to see Albert bridge illuminated.

So it was a day of 19952 steps.

Jour 11, 8 mai 2024

 What a beautiful day !! We started a little later than usual because my companions needed to sleep after the long day yesterday.

So we went around Piccadilly today. We did the usual route: Green Park station, Old Bond street, Saville Row, Burlington Arcade, Royal Academy of Arts, Fortnum and Mason, Hatchard… After this trail, we were ready for lunch. We went to a food truck yard and we all chose a different meal. We sat in the park and had lunch there.

Dominique met Churchill and Rosevelt.

With renewed energy we continued down Regent Street to Carnaby Street. We entered the Liberty Store where we bought some cool souvenirs. The salespeople were so nice! We were very proud of our purple Liberty bags!

After Liberty, we chose to take the tube to Holborn station, from where we walked to the Covent Garden area. We stopped at Cross Keys Pub for an afternoon break. We spoke with a very nice French bartender. 

Look at our Liberty's bags!

We followed our route to Covent Garden.

After a short tour of Covent Covent, we arrive on the Strand. Before taking the tube, my friends wanted to see the Gordon Wine Bar, the oldest wine bar in London. So off we went.

This evening we cooked a homemade meal: Pasta. Chicken, asparagus and pesto. A delight! But before dinner, we had an aperitif on our small terrace. It was my first day without a jacket!! 

A view from our balcony.  You can see blue sky over London!

So I finished this post with 15642 steds on the clock.  I leave you with this thought: 

Jour 10, 7 mai

 Today was a departure and arrival day. Lyne was the first to leave at 10am this morning. We were all emotional to see her go and she felt the same way about leaving us in London.  It was a pleasure to share this week in London with Lyne.

Catherine and I went to the grocery store and waited for Nicole, Carole and Dominique to arrive.

In the meantime, the guy who was in charge of changing the sheets arrived. For a while we were all in the house together. Catherine left at 2 p.m. She was a little nervous about flying alone, but she was also very happy to finally see her new home.

This morning we noticed that there was water infiltration in the bathroom on the first floor. I informed the agency and they sent a man to take care of it. I've never seen a plumber with a jacket before! He had a very classic look for the work he did. I am sorry I didn't took a picture of him.  In any case, the rest of this water leak story is to be continued. Stay tuned!

As always, we did the royal tour. On the way we entered Partridge's, where I saw a box of tea that I will have to go back and buy.

My travel companions were very tired and had difficulty keeping their eyes open on the bus back.

But they had enough courage to go to a restaurant for dinner. We went to Pizza Express on Kings Road, a 5 minute walk from our house.

We got back just before 7pm and they went to bed the second we got there.  

So this quiet day was a day of 12979 steps.

Jour 9, 6 mai 2024

 It was our second rainy day. It doesn't really matter because our plan was to visit the British Museum. Well, Lyne and I went to the museum and Catherine stayed home this morning.

When we arrived at the museum it was pouring rain and the queue was very long. I remembered there was another door at the back of the museum. There were fewer people so we waited in line until the museum opened.

Lyne was really interested in this museum. A history teacher for many years, the subject particularly attracted her, especially the greck and roman empire.

We stayed at the museum for about 2 hours.

After our visit we went to Russell Square for lunch and cappucciono.

We returned mid-afternoon because Lyne had to get her boarding pass.

While we were outside, Catherine was shopping near the house on Kings Road.

Before dinner, we all made one last visit together. We went to see the Royal Albert Hall and the Albert Memorial.  My friends were very impressed by the magnificence of the monument. Queen Victoria was in love with her Albert and so she wanted a monument that would express the extent of her love.

Being near the Royal Albert Hall, brought back  so good memories of my visit in March 2022.

Tonight we stayed home with pizza and salad. My friends were preparing their departure for tomorrow. It was a really pleasant and busy 8 days with Catherine, André and Lyne. It was very good company.

Despite the rain, we managed to take 13177 steps today.