Another Digression

Yet another post which digresses from photos from our holiday. I'm currently working on the photos from Cardiff but for now, here are the first pics of the garden for 2009. Enjoy.

The appearance of snowdrops in the garden represents the irreversible transition to spring. It is a moment that fills every gardener with hope.

This is the 103 year old Tunisian window that hangs in our backyard.

Devan's Fifth Birthday

I'd like to take a break from vacation pictures to share a few photos from this past weekend. My nephew, Devan, had a birthday party on the weekend. Devan's mom and dad hosted a fantastic party for Devan and 5 of his little friends. It was loud, but it was cute!

There was a dinosaur theme:

Hilarity ensued:

Friends were invited and dinosaurs were painted (requiring extreme concentration):






A pinata was destroyed!

Cake was eaten:

Presents were opened:

A mother was proud:

Memories were made:

The Victoria and Albert Museum

The V and A is enormous and filled with just about everything from ancient Egyptian artefacts to the finest examples of contemporary art and furniture.

"Museums smell"

A couple of pics from the lovely area of town that the museum is in.

I could barely get past the foyer it was so beautiful.

I could definitely find a place for any of the amazing pieces of contemporary furniture in our home.

The gallery with the statues of Rodin knocked my socks off. They are so beautiful depicting amazing scenes from history and mythology.

There are two immense rooms containing massive plaster casts of carvings from all over the world.

There was a large gallery of ancient musical instruments. The carvings were very intricate and beautiful.

Tower of London

The Tower of London was surprisingly interesting. Many monarchs lived in the tower over the centuries. The tower is surrounded by buildings such as a chapel, refectory etc. and a large wall with living spaces and dungeons.

Our guided tour was conducted by a grumpy yet amusing Yoeman who retired from Her Majesty's armed forces after 22 years of service then studied for many years to become one of the caretakers of the Tower.

Some of the rooms and staircases in the wall are so tiny, there's scarcely room to put your foot down on one of the steps.

This next one is a view of the Tower from an anteroom to some dungeon cells.

A monk lived in this cell. At least he appeared to have been fed.

I loved these iron guards posted in intervals all around the tower walls.

One of the many relics/carvings recovered from the tower.

The chapel is still very much a working church that holds regular services. Photos  of the interior were not permitted. It was truly ancient and medieval feeling on the inside with many relics and tombs inside. Its quite a modest size actually.

Who knew they made suits of armor for children?

The prisoner who scribed this intricate carving in to the wall was a fellow by the name of Hew Draper who was accused of sorcery in 1561. I would suggest that carving the zodiac in the wall of your cell might not go a long way to dissuading your accusers of your guilt.

 

We visited the tower at night to take some night shots. Here is another of the dutiful protectors on the wall:

This shot gives you a better idea of the layout of the Tower with its various means of defense.

A London Walkabout

This blog entry is just a collection of miscellaneous images from around London. We'll start in Kensington, move through Hyde Park, on to Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus and end up in St Pauls. We hope that you enjoy the tour.

A very dear friend of ours, J (see Hunger Over Thirst blog for her wonderful travel journal and foodie insights) said that we MUST stop in at Laduree and try something called a vanilla macaroon. Oh my heavens. There a no words to describe the Laduree macaroon collection. We tried six different kinds including mango, rose, coffee . . . and ate them as we walked aimlessly around the Kensington area eventually getting lost in the process. The macaroons are a minor miracle and a must-try when in London town.

On our way to Buckingham Palace. This woman felt that pigeons didn't belong near Her Majesty's place of residence.




This next one is for my friend Lori who I thought of everytime we saw horseback riders making their way through the beautiful Hyde Park.




This woman apparently likes pigeons since she is feeding them.




Just a typical scene in Hyde Park.



These next two are from Picadilly Circus. There's such a wonderful atmosphere there.

A close-up of the statue.




Moving on to the area around St Paul's Cathedral:






And finally, a window inside one of the rooms that make up the wall surrounding the Tower of London.