I haven't been to many capital cities - London, Paris and Amsterdam only. They are all pretty exciting; so what is it about London that sets it apart from the other two? Well it seems to me that London is so much bigger you have to choose extremely carefully which part you are going to look at when you go. Travelling around London can also be problematic at times - it is a little bit tiresome when there is a signal failure on the tube and they operate a one in one out system through the stations.
Travelling to London can also be a somewhat hit and miss affair; for example during August the return train fare from Southampton to Waterloo was £15. When September arrived it went back to £83.50! You can fly to Italy cheaper than that. There is a cheap way to get to London, and that is by National Express coaches - £12 return, and you are guaranteed a seat. Still, enough about how to get there, what do you do when you arrive?
We love the galleries and museums in London, but the first thing to do is find a cup of coffee and a scone
Travelling to London can also be a somewhat hit and miss affair; for example during August the return train fare from Southampton to Waterloo was £15. When September arrived it went back to £83.50! You can fly to Italy cheaper than that. There is a cheap way to get to London, and that is by National Express coaches - £12 return, and you are guaranteed a seat. Still, enough about how to get there, what do you do when you arrive?
We love the galleries and museums in London, but the first thing to do is find a cup of coffee and a scone
This is the Concrete café at the Hayward Gallery within the Southbank centre. This café is quite literally described by its name - it is made of concrete. After some refreshment we were ready to debate the perennial and thorny question of what is Art? The exhibition we were looking at is entitled 'The Human Factor' and had a variety of sculptures which varied from shop mannequins to the most explicit and lifelike nude model of a woman that I have ever seen. The gallery says it is exploring sexuality and voyeurism. This may be the case, as we certainly did not know how to react when later we thought we saw the model having a sandwich and an orange juice where we were having lunch.
There are some iconic monuments in London that are just so famous and so well known that it comes as a bit of a surprise when you realise that you have either never visited them, or only visited them once. St Paul's Cathedral falls into that category. So last week we decided to go. The first hurdle we had to get over was actually paying to get in - £16.50 to enter a house of God? What is going on? We gritted our teeth, paid it, and discovered it was money well spent. As well as the stunning galleries, the tombs, and the actual grandeur of the place it also hosts an absolutely amazing piece of modern art. That is 'Martyrs' by Bill Viola.
There are some iconic monuments in London that are just so famous and so well known that it comes as a bit of a surprise when you realise that you have either never visited them, or only visited them once. St Paul's Cathedral falls into that category. So last week we decided to go. The first hurdle we had to get over was actually paying to get in - £16.50 to enter a house of God? What is going on? We gritted our teeth, paid it, and discovered it was money well spent. As well as the stunning galleries, the tombs, and the actual grandeur of the place it also hosts an absolutely amazing piece of modern art. That is 'Martyrs' by Bill Viola.
This is a stunning piece of video work, and just not what I would have expected to see. That in itself was worth the money, and then there were the great views from the Stone gallery
I was surprised at how plain Sir Christopher Wren's tomb was, but everywhere we looked and walked were memorials and epitaphs to giants of British history - even when entering the ladies and gents toilets.
I have always believed that children should be taken to places of historical interest, and that travel broadens the mind. However I do find my view becomes a little strained when I observe parties of foreign teenagers barging round our cultural gems chattering loudly to each other and not paying any attention to what is going on around them. Still, what would retirement be like if we couldn't criticise the younger generation?
There are many clichés about London - one of which is that it is expensive. I am sure that is correct, but there are some very pleasant pubs, restaurants and London buses, where the food and drink are quite reasonable both in taste and price.
I have always believed that children should be taken to places of historical interest, and that travel broadens the mind. However I do find my view becomes a little strained when I observe parties of foreign teenagers barging round our cultural gems chattering loudly to each other and not paying any attention to what is going on around them. Still, what would retirement be like if we couldn't criticise the younger generation?
There are many clichés about London - one of which is that it is expensive. I am sure that is correct, but there are some very pleasant pubs, restaurants and London buses, where the food and drink are quite reasonable both in taste and price.
There are so many places to choose from - which is just as well, because one thing about London is that it wears you out, and so a little rest in the double decker bus is extremely welcome. Cheers!