No one batted an eyelid about taking a photo or two inside (I wasn’t alone).  The Christmas shop was lovely, but the Buddha Christmas decoration was a first!

 The Albert Hall was just up the street from our apartment.  Had a play  with the tripod and some light trails.  
Prince Albert in all his golden splendour!!  Again, needed the tripod as he’s behind locked gates at night.

 The very subtle sign at the River Cafe… 

 Art deco tiling in the Gloucester Road tube station.

After our excursion to Hammersmith and River Cafe, on Wednesday we were off to Nopi, in Soho for lunch.  We are both fans of the Yotam Ottolenghi cooking programs so were keen to try one of his restaurants.  The food was great – more robust cooking than River Cafe and with a mix of flavours.  We got a range of small plates to share – and particular favourites were courgette fritters and a melt in the mouth beef short rib.  We also tried ‘orange’ wines: white wines made in the style of reds with lots of skin contact which turns them an orange colour.  They were interesting, and complemented the food really well.

After lunch, a couple of craft related expeditions: Loop in Islington for wool, and Selvedge in Highgate – which was a little disappointing.  Their online presence is much better!  And they are exactly between two Tube stops so it’s a hike either way!  Pasta and wine in the apartment that night!

While I’ve carried my camera around, the last few days haven’t really been about taking photos – with the exception of my night photo session.

So here are a few shots from that session.  We were mostly around Westminster Bridge, over to the Abbey, and on the south side of the river to the London Eye.  

I mentioned in an earlier post that our apartment was in South Kensington.  It has turned out to be a great location: close to the Tube, and close to options for both eating out and eating in.

In the last couple of days we have done both.  Yesterday we began with a quick trip to Regent Street, for me to visit Liberty.  After getting lost by taking the wrong exit out of Piccadilly tube station and then standing in the drizzle trying to use google maps to get back on track, John navigated us there: easy when you knew how!

I love Liberty, and have done since my first visit in the late 1980s.  This time we went to most departments (except Men’s – which is in the basement!), including the Christmas shop.  Loved the haberdashery and craft area, but it was all fun.  

After that, we had a date for lunch in Hammersmith at the River Cafe.  It was all going well finding it, via tube to Hammersmith and with a walk along the Thames Path by the river, (in very light drizzle) except at the crucial point when google maps thought we’d arrived but we couldn’t find the entrance!  Anyway, we got directions (the sign is very subtle!) and had a lovely, albeit expensive lunch.  The room is large and light, and the food is italian: but light, with lots of fish and seafood.  Saying that, we had roast lamb as our main!

Rolled back to the tube and home.  After some downtime, off again, this time to Westminster Bridge, where I had a phot walk starting at 6:45pm.  For 3 hours took various views around Westminster, London Eye, etc.  Fun (if cold by the end of the evening), and learned lots.

Today was heavy on the shopping – Liberty again, but also Loop (knitting yarns) at Islington and Selvedge at Highgate.  The latter has a better online presence than physical shop.  But we had a date for lunch again, this time at Nopi, just off Regent Street – and we really enjoyed it.  This time the food was more casual with bolder flavours and the wine choices a bit less traditional.  The place was really buzzy.

Photos to come…

The sheer amount of stuff in the V&A is completely over whelming.  Below are some random photos from the islamic arts,  ceramics and painted glass exhibits.   Some of it is kitsch, some of it just the opposite. Overall, the place is just overwhelming!

Islamic tile design

Tipoo’s tiger: the ceramic version; there is also a giant version in wood.
  

The Tower of Babel – this one more traditional in painted glass.

Samples of glaze colours in the ceramics materials and techniques room.

Detail from a 14th century quilt!   
Embroidered indian textile.

 Amazing islamic carpet..  
 Medieval tapestry.

A temporary  exhhibit of porcelain blocks representing shops around London.  Fascinating…. 

I forgot to add that the artist was making a statement about consumer society – and selling the 3000 blocks that make up the Tower!

More WordPress frustration: so here is the first batch of photos:

Shoe exhibition – no photos inside unfortunately!!   

 John and a very big pot!

In the ceramics rooms.

  
The glass exhibits.

On a London day that started grey and threatened and did become wet, we visited the V&A, literally down the stree and around the corner.  I first visited here over twenty years ago, and as I’ve become more interested in arts and crafts, islamic and asian art and textiles, I’ve become even more interested in coming back.