We arrived in London yesterday afternoon and, despite a broken suitcase (thanks Qatar!) and track works on the Piccadilly line, it was still a pretty good trip over. It was into Camden and our hotel, and then off to the pub for a cleansing ale and a bite to eat.
Today we headed out for a bit of sightseeing. First, to Brick Lane in Shoreditch for a bagel at the oldest bagel (beigel) shop in London, across to the Old Bailey and St Paul’s Cathedral, into Liberty’s of London. This afternoon we visited the Gloucester Road tube station to see an art installation on the disused Platform 4 before heading back home for an early dinner (dealing with a little bit of jet lag).
On the flight between Doha and Heathrow, we headed upstairs on the A380 to our seats… unfortunately not to Business Class but a girl can dream!At the lovely Lord John Russell pub on the corner near our hotelThe bagel shop in Brick Lane this morningWith DeniseTasty looking vegetarian optionsMy delicious smoked salmon and cream cheese bagelDown to Liverpool Street tube station with the Gherkin in the distance The Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court)The neo-Baroque building features elaborate carvings and is topped by a 12ft gold-leaf statue of Lady Justice, holding a sword and the scales of justice. Notably, this statue is not blindfolded, distinguishing it from many other depictions of Justice (thanks Google)One of the beautiful stained glass windows in the 17th century, Christopher Wren designed, Church of St.Martin-within-Ludgate, just around the corner from St Paul’sSt Paul’s CathedralTemple Bar, a 350 year old gateway to the City of London, designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It formerly stood in Fleet Street, and is the last surviving gateway to the City of LondonThe first quirky thing for the trip… The Panyer Boy, a mysterious carving from 17th century London seemingly depicting a young boy sitting on a bread basket although no one knows it’s origins, or exactly what it is supposed to be depicting. Although it has been moved a number of times as buildings are demolished he has apparently always been in the vicinity of Panyer Alley, a street named after the boys who sold bread from pannier baskets (Thanks Atlas Obscurer). Onto Liberty London (aka Liberty’s), founded in 1875 and renowned for supporting avante garde fashions and homewares. We’ve heard it referred to on British shows like Antiques Roadshow regularly over the years, so thought we’d visit.Inside one of the four main atriumsAnother atrium with art installationOut onto nearby Carnaby StreetThen into SohoAfter lunch it was off to the Gloucester Road tube station to check out this installation (‘Pond Life: Albertopolis and the Lily’) on the disused Platform 4 as part of Art on the Underground program. One of the five discs, each 4 metres in diameterOut around the Gloucester Road area… And again Coffee and tart at a Paul cafe (London chain of patisseries)
Because we hadn’t eaten enough today (🥴)… out to the (very busy even on Monday night) Marquis Cornwallis pub up the road for tea
My avo & mango salad with grilled chicken… yumThey mucked up his order… He’s still waiting…30mins later, after I’m finished… his Pale Ale Pie arrives (they didn’t charge us for it). As we walked home, we took a short deviation to see if the Generator, a pub where Beth (my daughter) worked whilst living in London, is still there… I hadn’t realised that it is literally just around the corner from where we’ve stayed for the past two visits.
Morocco Food Tour 