Explore London

I went round the FCO on open house weekend, went down whitehall for the first time, I went to spitalfields after that as well. Here’s one I might actually be able to achieve.

London is a great place but I take bits of it for granted. I’d like to see more of it, whether on my own or with people, I want to discover new parts of it

Stew and I are taking a trip to london to go to Portebello market, and Camden Lock Market. Then the zoo if we have time. That would be cool if we had time for all three…. I love Zoos haha!

Anyone have a must-see that’s not too obvious?

Keep track of my explorations here: http://fushmush.net/travel/uk/

• St Paul’s Cathedral
• Tower of London
• Tate Modern
• Tate Britain
• National Gallery
• Climb the Clock Tower of Parliament and see Big Ben “in the flesh”
• Kew Gardens
• Hampton Court Palace
• Go inside Buckingham Palace
• Victoria and Albert
• Camden Markets
• Brick Lane Markets
• Climb Monument
• See a play at the Globe Theatre
• Visit Tower Bridge

more to come…

I had been to Hyde Park before, but always with others, and never really paid attention or explored when I was there. So for an Artist Date I went to Hyde Park by myself.

It was an afternoon on a weekday, so there weren’t many people. I just walked and walked, which is good exercise for me, the air fresh and cool. There were several people walking their dogs and I pondered how majestically dogs run on four legs and how human beings would never look that good running on four legs, even back then. Anyway. I really like dogs. There were also many squirrels, scurrying among the trees.

I saw the Serpentine, the Fountain of Joy (think that’s what it was called) from a distance, and Speaker’s Corner, with no speakers (must go back there on a sunday). A mosaic on the ground where an important tree used to be. The mosaic had an explanation as to why it was important but I don’t remember it now. Hundreds of birds, standing on the piers, drifting along the Serpentine, circling the sky. Which was great to see, until droppings started raining down from the sky and I hurried to get out of range. The best sight of the day was probably the groups of birds on the grass, I’m a bit ashamed to say I don’t know whether they were ducks or geese or something else (probably geese), but they were huge and travelling in large groups of about thirty and completely fearless of people, just stalking along the grass, slowly but purposefully, as if they were a band of soldiers advancing into battle. I wished I had a camera with me.

Also saw a group of very young kids, they were maybe five or six, with two adult women who I assume to be their teachers, trying to teach them to play football. The women demonstrated what they were supposed to do: they were supposed to play one-touch passes right up to the goal and then take a shot. I watched the first pair of boys taking the ball up towards the goal, making one-touch passes, and then, still quite far from the goal, one of the boys going for glory and taking a long distance shot, a weak shot that rolled into the keeper’s hands, and the other boy stamping his foot and throwing his hands up in exasperation, unable to believe his partner’s selfishness.

It was nice to walk, to be near nature and fresh air and open spaces. But it was cold, and it got lonely quick. I just walked and walked and walked. I also went to Kensington Gardens, I think that was what it was called, right next to Hyde Park, where there was a huge but very tacky golden monument to some Victorian king or queen, and some tourists taking pictures. Then went on from there to Kensington High Street, which I had never been to before. The area has some really nice buildings (it’s a rich area) and some good shops. All in all, it was good to explore a new area of London. I hope to go back there soon, with a good camera.

an Artist Date

I really like the area, and will be going down there for walks and exploration more often.

there’s still so much in London I haven’t seen. If I have friends from other countries coming over, I’d like to be able to show them around.

I’d like to really explore South Bank, to start with.

I live in the biggest, most cosmopolitan, more exciting (arguably of course) city in Europe and have done now for 5 years. And yet I feel a newcomer to the city. There is so much I want to see and discover in London. I’d be interested to hear of other people’s favourite places/adventures in London.