We had a coffee and pastry first at a tiny outlet in Euston, and then took the underground to Charing Cross. Emerging out of the gloom, we found our bearings and made for the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square.
We hadn't even thought about pre-booking, but we had to go onto the website, pick a time, and book two tickets. We then had to register, and show the QR code to the staff at the entrance... what a faff! Three older people wanted to go in and had to ask what to do. Luckily, they were directed to the staff at the counter who no doubt did it all for them! It's getting silly now with everything only available online. What if you don't have a smartphone? Not everyone has them!
We headed for the cafe first, for a cold drink and a coffee, and then tried to find our two favourite paintings: Susanna At Her Bath by Francesco Hayez, and The Execution of Lady Jane Grey by Paul Delaroche.
 |
| Obviously, my photo doesn't do justice to the painting! The colour of her dress is particularly luminous. |
The Execution of Lady Jane Grey featured on Fake or Fortune recently, as it had been damaged by a flood and written off as beyond repair, rolled up for about four decades and forgotten about. Luckily, it has been restored to its full beauty and any damage is invisible.
It seemed to me that the gallery wasn't up to full capacity and it looked like only a few rooms were open. We did see some of the Impressionists as well as two Van Gogh paintings. None of the lifts was working, so I dread to think what you'd do if you were in a wheelchair or had a pushchair. We stayed until about 12.45pm as we had a booking at 1pm for The Clarence in Whitehall, a pub Keith and I went to a few years back when Sophie had an interview nearby.
Outside, it was glorious, a beautiful Autumnal day. The streets were packed, and we saw three unmarked police cars scream past, their sirens blaring. London is such a huge contrast to our sleepy little village!
It was a short walk to the pub, and we were seated at a table by the window. Sipping on half pints of Guinness we looked at the menu and chose some "small plates" to share - halloumi fries, triple-cooked chips with aioli, chicken goujons, and hummus served with toasted bread. The food was delicious, the pub pleasantly busy with people eating and drinking and we spent a very enjoyable hour there relaxing.
Our reservation at Buckingham Palace Gardens was for entry between 2.45 and 3pm. We walked down the Mall and alongside St James Park, which is gorgeous. People were out enjoying the sunshine and some were sitting on deckchairs on the grass.
The crowds at the front of Buckingham Palace seemed a lot less than usual, which wasn't a surprise! We headed to the left of the palace, around to Gate A where a small huddle of people were waiting. We had proper tickets so we were shown in, and then had to pass through airport-style security.
Once through this, we followed a path through tall flowering bushes and came to the indoor riding school. It all looked very promising and I thought we would go on to see the stables and maybe some horses of the Royal household.
Once past this, we came to the grounds - a large lawn on which lots of people were having picnics, and the back view of Buckingham Palace.
It was warm, so we decided an ice cream would be perfect! We chose two scoops and found a bench in the shade to enjoy them, watched intently by two magpies and a pigeon! Some people had bought huge picnic bags, blankets and chairs - how they managed to get them through security is beyond me!
After we'd eaten our ice creams we wandered around and witnessed a man being told off by a member of staff for walking through some long grass and not keeping to the path. Beyond the perimeter of the lawned area, the grounds were roped off and there were many staff about to keep you away. They were very friendly but I thought it was a bit heavy-handed. Both Sophie and I had imagined there would be beautiful gardens to look at, with roses, flowering beds, trees, maybe even statues and topiary, but the lawned area was all there was to see. We were a little disappointed, to be honest.
We wandered right up to the building and tried to see in, but the windows had thick curtains. On the terrace, there were some tables and chairs, and I should imagine if you came here with a picnic intending to stay for a few hours, it would be quite pleasant, especially if you had small children.
Our last stop was the shop where we were astounded by the prices! There was a boxed set of coffee cups and saucers retailing for £295! We made our way over to a small selection of Christmas decorations and Sophie picked out a little cushioned one with Buckingham Palace 2021 on it, but it was selling for £25!
We swiftly made our way back out into the sunshine and decided to leave. It was a ten-minute walk to the exit, and the path skirted a lake where you could sit on a bench and relax, which is what we did for ten minutes. There was a steady procession of people walking past, but you would never know you were in the middle of London as it was quiet and peaceful.
Back out into the hustle and bustle of London we made our way to Victoria Underground and took a crowded tube train back to Euston. By now it was about 4pm so the trains were getting busier. At Euston, we saw there was a train leaving at about 4.50pm for Northampton, so we managed to get onto that one, and it was heavenly. We had imagined there would be crowds of people, and I was preparing myself for standing all the way, but it was very quiet, with hardly anybody in our carriage.
Keith met us at the station and said that Mike had been in touch to say he was on his way home for the evening. Within half an hour of being at home, he arrived and we decided to have an Indian takeaway for dinner. I wasn't that hungry so I just had a starter, but the others tucked into curries, naans and poppadoms!
No comments:
Post a Comment