London Calling

An overview of our jam-packed holiday in London, England:

- 5.5 days spent in this English metropolis.
- 3 museums/galleries toured: Tate Modern, National Gallery, and the British Museum. Fun fact: they're all free to get into and to view the main collections. Special exhibits require tickets.

Main atrium of the British Museum.

- 4 bridges crossed: Waterloo Bridge, London Bridge (not to be confused with Tower Bridge), Millennium Bridge, Westminster Bridge.
- 7 iconic landmarks admired: Tower Bridge (viewed from London Bridge), St. Paul's Cathedral, the Gherkin, The Shard (seriously), the London Eye, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

- 1 show attended in the West End: the amazing Lion King.
- 1 Shakespearean production seen at the Globe Theatre: the beautifully staged and wildly entertaining adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". #WonderSeason.
- 1 Abbey toured: Westminster Abbey (£20 for admission, but you get an audio guide). Darwin and Newton are interred there and there's a great " Poet's corner" where many English literary bigwigs are commemorated, including Lewis Carrol. Also the grave of the Unknown Soldier is here. Handel also has a giant monument as a German-born composer who primarily worked in England. The whole abbey was a lot larger than I had anticipated.

Courtyard of Westminster Abbey.

- 3 squares/circuses (plus Regent St) visited and people-watched at: Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Sq, Oxford Circus. Bonus: Canada House is right at Trafalgar Square and houses a small exhibition area currently showcasing Emily Carr paintings. We didn't have a chance to go in.
- 1 viewing of the pomp and pagentry that is the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. Arrive early and be prepared to lose your place if you so much as twitch or turn away for a half second. Weirdest moment: when the marching band started playing Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" and Ted started singing.

- 4 markets shopped at: Camden Market, Portobello Road Market, Old Spitalfields Market, and Brick Lane Market.
- 2 delicious meals filled with laughs with family and friends who live in London.
- many tubes and double-decker busses ridden. Bonus: an attempt to get to platform 9 3/4 to catch the train to Hogwarts.

- several requisite meals/foods eaten including: yummy Indian food, bangers & mash, meat pie (FINALLY!!), fish & chips, Cornish pasties, Sunday roast with all the fixings, sticky toffee pudding, afternoon tea with scones and clotted cream.
- many pubs visited and several pints of beer imbibed. Bonus: 1 Canadian-themed bar visited where we drank Sleeman's Honey Brown.

The Maple Leaf! I was first brought here during my 2nd trip to London in 2010 by my good friend, Heather -- a fellow Canadian.

- and we still managed to wander the neighbourhoods and duck into residential streets, just to see. Bonus: Street art, 221B Baker St (a totally just-for-fun address, but it still made me giddy!), and a peek at Craven St,  where a particular doorknocker (that is no longer there), apparently gave Dickens (one of my favourite authors) the inspiration to a certain key scene in his classic "A Christmas Carol".

London, you've been a slice!
Up next: Edinburgh, Scotland!

Art and stuff

One of the things Ted and I enjoy doing together, whether at home or on trips, is wandering around different neighbourhoods and finding fun and funny street/graffiti and public art. When travelling, this is even more interesting because it has the added benefit of sometimes getting us a tiny bit outside the major touristy spots (which we always unabashedly enjoy) into other fun spots.

London, it turns out, is quite the hub for street artists (Banksy, anyone?) -- there's even a street art collective. There are blogs and websites dedicated to mapping some of the blocks street artists tend to regularly work and we were able to find and take snaps of neat examples. Turns out some of the fun pieces that caught our eye were done by well-known artists which we figured out after the fact.

Our hotel happened to be right next to Leake Street, one of the only areas where graffiti can be legally done. Although street art can be found all over London, the East End and the Shoreditch neighbourhood are particular hotspots for this. There are some great markets in these areas as well (Old Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane, for example) so depending on where one is, one can mix it up a bit between gawking at walls while taking in the urine-scented atmosphere of some sidestreets and tunnels and looking at handicrafts, vintage ware, and artisan foods.

As for the street art we came across -- sometimes it was an obvious political and/or social commentary, sometimes it was just plain incredible, and sometimes it just made me smile.

This guy made me laugh and was seen near Camden Market.

By ROA. Seen near Brick Lane. Plus, I love pigs.

A medley.

Dolus.

Very topical. John D'Oh.

A giant ROA piece in the Shoreditch area.

Leake Street tunnel. Street artists were actively working while we walked through.

Banksy. Near the Mayfair area.