The Victoria & Albert Museum: Our Favorite

Did you know most of the Museums in London are free? You can just walk right in and drop a dollar or whatever you feel like in a donation box-but thats it. That’s all the money you are ever asked for. How amazing is that? Free access for all!

Our favorite museum in London was the Victoria & Albert Museum. It focuses a lot on Design, so of course we were naturally drawn to it. Besides that it has exhibitions on jewelry, to paintings, furniture, iron work, gold and silver smithing and everything in between. I love the variety of the works and beautiful pieces they have. Their exhibitions are always dynamic too. When my Mom came for a visit (more on that later) we saw a recently opened exhibition on handmade objects from all over the world, called “The Power of Making”. From cardboard surfboards (something we had seen at a Maker Fair in California) to giant hand knit rugs, couture dresses and custom coffins, it was right up our alley promoting the idea of quality of craft and hand made tradition. We went back 3 times to this museum during our month in London, and it wasn’t enough!

This is a stone mosaic. We saw a video on how this is made and it was incredible. The whole thing is drawn, then hand carved from marble, and then inlaid backwards!

Commemorative London bowl featured in the Modern Design section

Toy windmill from the Modern Design section

Poster advertising Kew Gardens in London-love this print!

Eric loves this font. Johnston, designed by Edward Johnston was specifically created for the London Underground typeface.

I thought this bit was interesting. I love how seriously Britain took design.

Stone engraving

I loved these engravings on the outside rims of the windows.

Detail of the window engravings

Eric loved this artists sketches-Giovanni Tieopolo (I believe). We saw many of his paintings at the National Gallery. He so easily captures form, figure, weight and life.

These are pre sketches for a statue he planned to do.

Giovanni Tiepolo

Ahhh, the jewelry section. Two floors of sparkly sparkles. They had amazing, beautiful, stunning pieces there but you weren’t supposed to take pictures. Trickster that I am, I took just a few snaps before getting politely yelled at. A funny thing I noticed is that some of the pieces listed their origins as being taken in lieu of taxes from well born families! Can you imagine? The British government takes them in lieu of payment and gives them to their national museums. Incredible.

Carved Orchid Tiara

That blue gem in the middle is a GIANT cocktail ring that was literally as wide as 2 of my fingers.

I’ve got a few more interesting pictures from when we visited this museum with my Mom. I’ll post those when I start blogging about her visit. If you are ever in London I require that you visit this museum! It’s wonderful!

<3 Chelsea

Creeping Ivy- Oxford, England

Our first trip out of London was a jaunt to Oxford. It was really wonderful taking a day out of London, not that it’s not wonderful, but we all need a break from the big city once in a while right?

The illustrious Daniel told me that Oxford has a representation from every period of British architecture-that is to say, there is an example of every type of British architecture (ever) in Oxford. This means it has all sorts of charming old buildings and churches. It was definitely the most picturesque town we went to in Britain (granted we didn’t go to that many, I know there are a great many of them in Ol’ Blighty). We had a great day idling in a pub, wandering around, gaping at the technicolor ivy creeping up all the walls and peering into the gated university buildings. Every corner we turned there was some unique, incredibly picturesque detail and surprise. A secret bridge between to buildings, a tiny dome hidden behind a school wall, a giant wood gate with an immense peephole. It was incredible, the whole town was a just a jewel.

A gorgeous old building and big pile of bikes. You know you're in a university town now.

The beautiful spire of that building

Charming old door and entryway

Striking blue door in Oxford

Oxford University Press

Jude the Obscure, where we had lunch! Amazing food and such a great name!

Technicolor Ivy

After lunch we took a wander around town. The University campuses are sprinkled all over town so we strolled along peeking in through their guarded gates. Most of the campuses require an entry fee to enter and look around. They are lovely old buildings with lush green courtyards in the middle, most of the time. It would have been nice to visit one or two of them, but because we were dealing with pounds we were trying to save our nickels and pennies. I did get a chance to snap a couple of pictures of the inside areas.

Beautiful swirly door hinge, and a peek into the garden

How beautiful would this be to walk by every day to class?

I went a bit wild taking photos of Oxford. It was so beautiful! I could have spent a week looking around and admiring the town.

I loved this drainpipe with a little green oasis growing out of it.

One of Oxford's charming Spires

Open Window

Another example of Oxford's diverse architecture

A view of Christopher Wren's Sheldonian Theatre.

Blood red ivy in Oxford

Red Ivy taking over this buildings facade

Door within a door

Just your typical super cool covered bridge between two buildings. Why walk on the street when you can do this?

Door handle

Floral carvings

Golden Gate, looking into campus courtyard

The Radcliffe Camera

Oxford Church

Vintage Bike for a Cafe sign

The bones of ivy

Little hidden dome

Oxford Examination Schools

Where Examinations are dropped off I suppose!

Boats and Punts on the Oxford Canal

Oxford Canal

Domes

Stained glass door

Thought this was a bit of a stretch, Burritos via Mexico, via San Francisco, to the UK

Christ Church

Keyhole Gate

We spent the twilight hours in a cafe on Rose Place, sketching the Christ Church. Our day trip to Oxford was a wonderful change of pace. The town was peaceful and lovely and seems infinitely explorable. Besides it’s obvious interest with the University there, the architecture and general learned atmosphere were a wonderful experience.

<3 Chelsea

The British Museum, London

Here are some snaps from our visit to the British museum with Little Brett, who was finishing his European tour in London as well. The British Museum was pretty colossal, housing some of the most rare treasures the world knows about. They have a series throughout the museum of “The History of the World in 100 objects”. You know a museum has to have a pretty extensive collection to be able to boast a series like that. Two of the highlights were the Rosetta Stone, the stone that was the key to unlocking translation and understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a fully preserved Samurai suit.

The Rosetta Stone, with Greek, Demotic and Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The Mold Gold Cape, found in Wales dating between 1600-1900 BC!

Glass vessels

And now for the jewelry section. Sorry fellas….

Cameo carved out of gems

Beautiful gold and turquoise Swallow brooch

Lots of Swallow brooches!!!!

Butterfly and Moth brooches made out of minerals and gems

Ivy crown!! Can I wear this everyday? British from around 1900

Incredible lizard bracelet! Why don't they make jewelry like this anymore?

More fabulous flower and fruit brooches

Double Swallow brooch!

Ok, end of the jewelry section. Thanks for indulging me!

Eric and Brett's friend Hanna check out the inner workings of a clock.

Crazy gold boat, that is actually a clock!!

Eric and Brett check out the extensive clock collection

Amazing old cash register

Clay Vessels

Ancient turquoise dish

Pharaoh figurines

Pidcock's (is there any better name?) Royal Menagerie, featuring the ONLY black swan ever seen in the Kingdon and a cow with 2 heads!

Old spelling of animals including an Afs, a Horfe and a Wolfe

Full Samurai suit!

Eric, Brett and Hanna ponder what it's like to hold a Katana.

Samurai saddle and stirrups with mother of pearl inlay

Copy of Hokusai's "The Great Wave"

What an incredible museum to take in. And we only scratched the surface! And it was free! Can you imagine? That is the beauty of british museums, many if not a majority are free. All these amazing relics and all this information is at anyone’s fingertips in London. How lucky are they?

Next stop: Oxford!

<3 Chelsea

Remember, remember the 5th of November: Bonfire Night

The big excitement the first weekend we were in London was Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night. Essentially, to celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes in trying to blow up Parliament in 1605, the entire nations sets things alight, blows up fireworks and enjoys a general haze of debauchery (they are British though, so nothing too untoward).

Bonfire night in Lewes

Loads of people in Lewes for Guy Fawkes Night

An effigy of Guy Fawkes to burn

These pictures might indeed look like a war zone set on fire, and I must say that that was the general atmosphere of the whole night. Dan’s brother, John and his girlfriend, Rosie, rented a mini van and we all, plus their friend Smuggo, drove down to the city of Lewes (is it pronounced Loooos, or Louis? We’re still not sure) for the festivities, about 2 hours outside of London. Apparently, this city is renowned for their Bonfire night celebrations, where the surrounding four towns, plus Lewes, join up for a night of parades, fireworks, drinking and general madness.

Citizens dressed up as pirate smugglers

Fire, fire, everywhere

Citizen dressed up as a british foot soldier....bottle feeding his baby

And some people were dressed as Vikings

Little boys dressed up as Firefighters

Laura, enjoying the lights

Following the parade groups were men towing sawed off oil barrels (half barrels) in which they piled up the torches people dropped.

*At the end of the video I’m crouching behind Eric because I was too scared!

Basically, everyone was dressed up from the time period of Guy Fawkes and was marching around in a parade carrying torches. In a lovely addition, they were also dropping M-1000 fireworks on the ground every so often (i.e. every 2-3 minutes) that create a huge bang, a huge fireball, and a huge flash of light. Those bangs you hear in the video above are the little “firecrackers” everyone was dropping! KABOOM!

To be honest, this really freaked me out for the first few minutes, when I looked at Laura after the first barrage and she shouted “I’m SOOO SORRY WE BROUGHT YOU HERE” I felt a bit better. Like “Ok, I’m less of a wimp”. But after a while, we got used to the noise and the fire and got into the mood. We thought this was what all the bonfire nights were like and then Dan told us no, he’d never been to one this big before. When I asked, “Isn’t someone worried about people getting hurt? Isn’t someone going to sue someone???” they replied, “You’re such an American. No one is thinking like that here.” Fair point.

Dan is stoked.

War Veterans memorial. The whole crowd sat for a minute's silence. In the middle of all that madness, it was really powerful.

Lighting a torch before setting of the Veterans effigies

Lights going off during the Veterans memorial

Dan and John

"No Popery", a big theme in Bonfire Night. Apparently Guy Fawkes was a Catholic so "no popery" reinforces the fact that Bonfire Night celebrates his demise.

Effigy of the Pope

Gaddafi effigy. Yowza!

We ended the night on top of the hill above town, watching three simultaneous firework shows go off across the sky of the valley. Laura had brought sparklers so we played around with those for a while too. I won’t get into how we almost got in a fight with a pack of 14 year olds. You’ll have to wait to hear about that one!

Dan and Laura, sparkling

Firework casing I found

All in all, it was definitely one of the most exciting nights of our trip. We would have never even known about it except for Dan and his brother. We were really excited to be able to experience it. I hope we’re there next year for it!

<3 Chelsea

Harry Potter effigy!

Sightseeing in London

So eventually we ventured into the center of London to see some of the big sights. We popped up at Big Ben and Parliament, then wandered over to Westminster Abbey and crossed the bridge to poke around the other side of the river. Here are some photos from that day.

Did you know Big Ben is actually just the name of the big bell inside the Tower?

Lion in front of a statue by Parliament

Parliament

Golden Flags, London

Westminster Abbey towers over Eric.

 

This gargoyle had plants growing out of it's head. Teehee.

Big Ben at Night

London Eye

Eric and I in front of Big Ben and Parliament

Next up, Guy Fawkes Night!

<3 Chelsea

Spitalfields Vintage Market, London

When Laura told me there was a vintage market happening, in an old Victorian era building, that only happens on Thursdays, I knew what we were doing the next day (whether Eric wanted to or not, luckily for me, he appeases me in the vintage shopping arena).

Here are some snaps from that market, and the nearby Brick Lane.

Inside Liverpool Street Station, on the way to Spitalfield's

Fresh baked goods at Spitalfields

Union Jack and ice skates....

Bobby Hat

Brick Lane is an interesting area. Laura regaled me with it’s history: the area originated as a haven for the Huguenots who had fled France, then the Irish followed, then the Jews and now the Bengali (from Bangladesh).  It’s becoming gentrified by the hipsters moving in with many, many vintage shops and one-off coffeehouses but it is also the outpost of the Bengali community in London, with curry house after curry house (all professing to be the TOP in London) lining up beside the vintage shops. It’s an interesting diverse area that’s got two very different communities residing within it.

Watch out for that Stork!

Brick Lane. In English and Bengali.

Old Truman Factory, Brick Lane

We met up with Laura and Dan that night for some gourmet pizza (pumpkin and goat cheese, oh yes) in a place Eric and I would have never found. Love seeing a city with locals!

<3 Chelsea

One month in London! Our neighborhood

Eric and I took the Chunnel (otherwise known as the Eurostar) to London on the night of November 1^st. Our plan was to stay with our friends Laura and Dan for a week, and then find our own place for one week to get out of their hair, then move into a flat we rented for two weeks while my Mom came to visit in the second half of November.

Laura was one of my very first interns in my old job. She struggled with me while I learned the ropes of being a “manager” (which was a bit laughable as we’re the same age), and helped me through that busy period of my life. She and her boyfriend were living in San Francisco for 6 months in their post college days, volunteering and interning. Laura is awe-inspiring Laura. I mean, this woman is studying to be a teacher and working with outer city kids, is smart as a whip, keeps a beautiful home, is a wonderful cook and has amazing style to boot. I don’t know any one else who can pull of the Michelle Williams pixie cut like Laura. Basically, I want to marry the woman but she’s already with Dan, who, let’s face it, is much more handsome than I am, so I need to move on with my broken heart. Anyway, I love her very much and am inspired by her every day.

Being as gracious as she is, she fetched us from the train station and accompanied us back to her lovely home, just across the road from the Arsenal tube station. They have an adorable place, perfectly decorated, so stylish, but comfortable and minimal. Dan and Laura welcomed us with some home made soup and dug in to hear all our travel stories up to that point. We had a great night catching up with friends (a rare treat for us who are always alone) and learning about our new neighborhood.

A note about the graciousness of our hosts. As I mentioned, we showed up expecting to just stay one week, because as anyone who’s had a house guest knows, a week is a long time for two idiots with giant back packs to invade your home.  They asked  “How long are you staying? One month? Two months?” (I wish!). They would hear nothing of us leaving before my Mom came. “It’s nothing to us, we’re glad to have you here.” Laura and Dan’s generosity knew no bounds. They welcomed us to their food, their space and their lives without a second thought. We would never have been able to stay in London for as long as we did, without their generosity. And indeed, we wouldn’t have liked it half as much as we did, if they weren’t there to share it with.

Our first day was spent tootling around our new neighborhood. We took a big walk up to Highbury, Islington Green and Angel to discover the area. We liked it immediately. It was our kind of place with cute boutique shops (ok, that’s my type of place), nice coffee shops (that’s Eric’s type of place) and one of a kind cafes, restaurants and a nice one screen movie theatre. Here are some photos of our home away from home.

The tree outside Laura and Dan's house, showing us it's beautiful autumn colors.

When we arrived London was in full Autumn, cool, crisp, autumnal.

Roses in the neighborhood

Blue door and checked tiles in Aresenal

Clock tower in Highbury, Islington

Autumn leaves in Highbury Fields

Highbury Fields

Autumnal light

"A church for atheists"

Upturned chairs on Upper Street, the local high street

"No football colours", no team colors means no fights

Islington Green, green space on Upper Street next to the movie theatre Screen on the Green

Camden Passage near Upper Street, home of the African Waistcoat Company. That old man was embroidering on a chair across from his store.

Get Stuffed, the local taxidermy shop. Of course.

Checkerboard steps

Conservatory patio at the Blue Legume cafe on Church Street

The Blue Legume

Cafe Vintage, our closest cafe....

...an adorable cafe with a teeny vintage store in the back and yummy coffee and baked goods in the front.

Cafe Vintage

As we were in London for so long, I’ll cover it in shorter posts about all the fun things we did. Next time, Spitalfield’s vintage market!

<3 Chelsea