Last Day in London - Lunch with Cousins, Tate Britain & St Paul

This morning it was back to St Paul's for one last try & I finally got under the High Dome to see the wonderful masterpieces painted there and the beautiful mosaics on other ceilings. Overlooking the Quire where smaller domes, each contributing to the story of the Creation of the Universe, depicting birds, fish and trees in a frenzy of sparkling squares.

Clockwise from left - Orange Polenta Cake, Banoffee Pie & Lah Di Dah Cake

The Tower of London - Day Seven

Ok, I'm seriously behind. This is getting real now. I've been in Poland for a little over three weeks now, which means this this blog is behind by about a month. I'm still going to do posts for each day of London (this is the penultimate one, after all) and after that, well let's say I should catch up quite quickly.

The V&A and Harrods - Day Six London

Today I took a tour through the Victoria and Albert Museum which showcased major highlights of their vast collections. Throughout the hour-long tour we saw an Imperial Throne from the Chinese Qing Dynasty, whose carvings were all carved out of the millions of layers of lacquer painted onto the chair (not the wooden core), busts of Spanish Princes - or something - and some other interesting stuff, but the highlight for me were the Cast Courts.

Royal & Wonderful - Day Five

'A gift from New Zealand' in the foreground

Sunlight streaming across Buck House

Tuesday morning I set off for Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. There were waay more people then than I had expected, I don't know, for some reason I thought there wouldn't be many people there at all. The procession into the front courtyard of the Palace consisted of guards on foot (with those iconic fluffy hats) playing brass music, as well as Royal Horse Guards with funny fountain hats and red coats, some marching, some on horseback.

Convent Garden, Galleries & Sights by Night - Day Four London

The morning was spent browsing the cool & quirky shops of convent garden, and gazing in all the bakery's shop windows along the way. There were people playing music & singing opera while we were there, which gave the place an added sense of culture & refinement. We went into this exquisite candy store which had an (as yet) unbelievable range of truffles & chocolates. I took all my willpower not to buy about a dozen (filled chocolates are me weakness) , but Laurie and I just settled on a little chocolate penguin each, which happened to be filled with praline anyway :)

Columbia Rd & Shoreditch, the Ponsonby/K' Rd of London - Day Three

The morning consisted of a dawdle through the Columbia Road flower market and the neighbouring shops, where we picked up some tulips and daffodils. We dropped in to a little local cafe & bakery, Lilli Vanilli and had morning tea. Chocolate & poppyseed cake for me, red velvet for Laurie. The place was small but gorgeously decorated, and the food was just as good, if not better.

Markets, the Eye & Poetry - Day Two in London

Iconic buildings of London's skyline: the Thumb, the Cheese-grater, and the Gherkin

St Katherine's Dock

After coffee in St Katherine's Dock and another trip across Tower Bridge we headed to Borough Market.

The market is housed under a railway bridge

A massive wheel of gruyere cheese

It really was a foodie paradise - like Matakana Market but on a much bigger scale. As well as street food such as curries, salt beef, paella, and carb-wrapped meat in various guises, there also bakeries with golden loaves of bread piled up and delectable pastries.

London is Calling Me - Day One

On the Thames

After spending a night just outside London with relatives, I caught the train to Waterloo where I met my second cousin to stay with her and her partner for a little while. That first day, after dropping my bag at her flat, we walked along the Thames, past the Tower of London, and through the streets to St Paul's Cathedral.

the old telephone box - you've just got to, haven't you...

Greetings from Windsor

Next stop was London. I stayed with some family near Windsor on the first night and we drove around the village and went to nearby Eton. It was amazing! The castle was quite over the top. How could one family live in such a large place?! At the same time, I loved it - I can't help being partial to the royals.

Windsor Village