Hello London!

There are no foreign lands, it is the traveler only who is foreign.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Getting off of the train at London Blackfriars Station

2015 England Trip Travel Journal Entry

Thursday evening, March 5

Logistics: 

1. Train from London Gatwick Airport to London Blackfriars Station
2. Circle/District Tube line to Victoria
3. Victoria Tube line to Brixton
4. Bus to our final destination, a flat rented on AirBnB

 (1:20 AM) It has been a long day, with some learning curves, a lot of excitement and a lot of hunger. :) But we have at last gone to the store and shall not starve! Thankfully our closest Tube stop has grocery stores galore just feet away, and we found a Sainsbury's Local that was still open after 10:00.

Back on the Underground!

We got to wander around a lit-up Oxford Street (for a rather long time, since I had us start off in the wrong direction...) and saw Selfridge's! The outside looks just like it does in the show! We walked in fifteen minutes before closing and were met with their dazzlingly large cosmetic section. (Kitty would have been thrilled. :))

It's so, so lovely having a flat of "our own" to come back to! I am so thankful! We come in, light the gas hub with a lighter, put the kettle on and settle ourselves on the sofa. (And maybe turn on the TV...) A tribute to the Battle of Britain was on ITV tonight, hosted by Ewan McGregor and his brother [who is in the military]. Our AirBnB host was so sweet and friendly! The sort of lady who calls you "love." :) Anyway, must get some sleep so I can enjoy tomorrow.

Friday, March 6

(5:44 PM) Today was a day of recovering. I tried to get up at 8:30, but we couldn't drag ourselves out until nearly two hours later. We also enjoyed a nice leisurely breakfast/lunch. Then I had to take a shower, so it was 3:30 before we left.

The classic Notting Hill

We had a nice walk in the sunshine to Stockwell Station to begin our journey to the Portobello Road Market. The Green Park Tube Station is worth avoiding in the future, as there are many stairs to climb and tunnels to walk down if you choose to switch lines. I would say the same of Baker Street Station, but is has a better-than-average atmosphere, including some retro wood decor (as in 1863 when it opened as the first underground station).

Coffee at Caffe Nero

Most of the vendors were packing up around 5:00 when we arrived, even though the Market officially closes at 7:00. There were still some used or maybe vintage clothes, shoes and accessories, including one stall entirely filled with old military clothes and gear! I'm sure there were some WWII uniforms there.

The street is rather international and Bohemian, with lots of Italian, Mid-eastern and Asian cafes, shops selling incense, and off-beat shops stuck in between. All of this a couple of blocks from the quintessential, definitive Notting Hill streets filled with rows of beautiful white houses. Now we're in Caffe Nero, warming up with a delicious cup of coffee, a croissant and a Belgian chocolate brownie that is so delicious it should be banned. :) We're going to plan our next move before we wander around until we're starving and cold. :)

Trafalgar Square at Night

(9:57 PM) Our planning worked! We had over an hour to spend in the National Gallery. Finally we had the time and opportunity to go in. Of course the outside is fittingly splendid for such an impressive collection, even at night. All of Trafalgar Square and Whitehall have an imposing grandeur that one can't see during the day because in the dark they are lit from underneath and the shadows make them seem more mysterious, filled with secrets and history that have shaped this country for centuries.

The Elizabeth Tower

Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square

The Houses of Parliament are the same. Even the small glimpse I now have through the windows of St. Stephen's Tavern shows them to be hauntingly stately.

The splendid National Gallery

Inside the National Gallery

The impressive collection of paintings in the gallery were housed in equally impressive rooms. Some were long and some were small, but all had open, soaring ceilings with intricate white molding and richly colored walls of orange red, mauve and mossy green, and wooden walls and furniture. It was quite classical. I think my favorites were Gainsborough and Constable, but I was also super excited and surprised to see 'The Ambassadors," the Wilton Diptych commissioned by Richard II and the sunflowers by Van Gogh.

Van Gogh's Sunflowers

The Wilton Diptych, 1300s

The Ambassadors, 1500s

Thomas Gainsborough's Mr. and Mrs. William Hallett ('A Morning Walk'), 1700s

The Young Waltonians by John Constable, 1800s

(11:53 PM) It is so pleasant to have a comfortable place to rest in after being out in the cold and blown about by the wind while getting tired feet. I get to put the kettle on, change into PJs and update Facebook as soon as my tea is made.

© 2015 Anna Morton