London Weekend

The Riverview Room where we stayed before leaving for Prague overlooked the River Thames and was in the London suburb of Fulham bordering Hammersmith.  It turned out to be a great location.  It was within walking distance of the Hammersmith tube station, a bus stop and the Fulham Palace Road.  I was able to take my laundry to a local laundromat on a Sunday morning and get it back by the early afternoon, and  I was able to buy a new coat at the local TK MAXX while I waited for my laundry to be processed.  My zipper had broken on my Evergreen coat an, anticipating colder weather, I didn't feel it was wise to go to eastern Europe without a coat featuring a working zipper.

We managed to do these chores AND do a little sightseeing.  Our hostess Cassie told us the 74 bus offered a good route into London, which we found to be true.  One of my personal goals  for my remaining time in London was to visit the Victoria and Albert museum.  As it happened, the 74 bus stopped right across the street from the Victoria and Albert.

As was true of so many of the museums we visited, photographs were not permitted past a certain point.  The only shot I got of the Victoria and Albert was of the Christmas tree in the vestibule.

It's a shame really, because there were many images I would have loved to record.  There were two special exhibits available that day.  Entry to the museum itself was free of charge, but special exhibits required an entry fee; the cost of these two exhibits was 20 pounds.  One was devoted to British Ballgowns since the 1950s and the other was devoted to costumes from famous films.  The latter was the more popular of the two and had time-controlled entry.  We weren't able to get in to that exhibit until 4:30, which wasn't ideal since the museum closed at 5:30.  We bought tickets for both, so it made sense to start with the ballgowns.

I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't what I saw.  These gowns were, by and large, some of the most unattractive dresses I've ever seen in my life (click on the highlighted and underscored title in the previous paragraph to see some of these gowns).  There were some notable exceptions, one of which was the famous "Elvis Gown" worn by Princess Diana.



There were a few other gowns which were lovely, but many of them were, frankly, disasters.  One of the notable gowns which had me shaking my head was made up of strips of shiney material.  It looked like it was made up of the foils my hairdresser uses to highlight my hair.  There was one monstrosity made of ostrich feathers.  Others looked like rubber balls stretched to fit a mannequin.  There were a few displays arranged chromatically, which really didn't do too much to enhance the attractiveness of these dresses. 

The Film Costumes exhibit was a lot of fun.  The displays included the gingham pinafore Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz," as well as the fabulous green velvet curtain gown worn by Vivian Leigh in "Gone With the Wind."  I loved the section devoted to the careers of Meryl Streep and Robert de Niro. There were four rooms of displays, and it would have been helpful to have had more time, but alas, 5:30 came all too soon. 

This was probably the first time I forced Cindy to run for a bus, but it wasn't the last.  We weren't sure where to pick up the 74 bus to head back to Hammersmith, so we ended up running for about four blocks.  After a 74 unloaded a full bus of passengers at the next bus stop, we anxiously waited for the next one to arrive (okay--I was the anxious one).   Another 74 pulled up (much to my relief), and we boarded.  This time, we ended up missing our stop.  It wasn't too far to walk back to where we should have disembarked, but it meant we had to pass by a cemetery. 

The next day was New Year's Eve, but we thought we could do some sightseeing in spite of the holiday.  The big fireworks display takes place on the River Thames by Big Ben/Eye of London.  That meant we'd need to get back to Hammersmith before too late.  Once again we caught the 74 with an eye to catching the on-off bus for a tour.  We found a stop where we were able to catch the on-off bus and climbed aboard.  We headed upstairs to the uncovered portion of the bus.  Unfortunately, it started raining, so we had to don rain ponchos.  They were a bit tricky to put on, but we managed. 

The tour took us past the major shopping districts.

There was a fun Twelve Days of Christmas Street Sign Display.

We passed through the theater (or "theatre") district.

 We saw the three "Muses" diving off this building.

We also passed by various government buildings.

There was some interesting statuary.

But this monument to the women who served in World War II was one of the more interesting.

I also liked some of the more unusual sculptures.

We passed by the big London monuments.

Our on-off tour was a means of getting to another of my goal destinations in London, St. Paul's Cathedral.

After touring around Great Britain for four months plus, I made it to a number of cathedrals, but I don't think St. Paul's has its equal.  It is truly magnificent.  The entrance fee was about 14 pounds, and it was worth every penny.  We picked up audio guides, which was a helpful way to learn more about the cathedral's history.  The dome was gorgeous, as were the statues, the floors and the crypt.  I was so glad we had that opportunity.  We had lunch at the cathedral and then hopped back on the bus.  We decided to ride out the tour.

We made it back to Hammersmith before 5:30, and decided to go in search of an early dinner.  This actually proved to be a challenging proposition.  It's uncommon for people to go out to eat quite so early.  We found a pub on Fulham Palace Road, and had a edible meal (nothing to write home about).

We headed back to the room, and were more or less done for the night by 7:00 p.m.  Our room was right above the neighborhood pub, so there was some reveling to contend with for the evening.  Although we were right on the Thames, we were quite a few miles from the fireworks launch.  Nevertheless, there were numerous fireworks in the neighborhood. 

It was a pretty tame New Year's Eve, but we were about to embark on our European tour, so tame was okay.