Come along as I blog about my 2024 journey across Scotland, England, and beyond! This is part 7, but click here to start from the beginning.
My first stop of the day was a museum I'd wanted to visit on my last trip to London, but did not. It's called the Museum of the Home, and it's free (but they do accept donations.)
I was not disappointed. There were elaborate room replicas from different eras, personal photos and real life stories of actual people, lots of old furniture, and displays of things like vacuums, TVs, and radios from different eras. They also had a garden with various sections based on English gardens from the past. All around, it was a really neat place.
The exhibit below was so cool... a photographer had visited an apartment building where all the living rooms were basically built the same. Then he photographed everyone's living room (and the variety of decor) and collected the people's personal stories.
At first, I was one of the only museum-goers there, and I had the place mostly to myself (except for workers/volunteers randomly walking through), but as I was getting ready to leave, a couple of big tour groups came in. I was happy to just miss them.
Next I took a bus over toward Victoria Park. As parks go, it was average, not a lot going on, but big and green. There were clusters of rentable bikes available. Last time I was in London, I was able to rent a bike at a kiosk. Now, they seemed to require you to get the app on your phone. I tried renting a Santander Cycle, but I couldn't get my payment to go through, so I went for a Lime Bike instead. It turned out to be an electric bike! I'd never ridden one before, and it was... something. Wheee!
Back to my hotel. I got a little mixed up and ended up taking 2 buses and several metros back to King's Cross (yay unexpected sightseeing!). At the station, I got some food (dinner for tonight and breakfast for tomorrow) plus a few other things I was running low on.
I couldn't believe I only had one more full day in London. Then I'd be going to Southampton... then the cruise. How was this going so fast?!?
June 28th
I started off relatively early today. First I headed for Hyde Park to see the supposedly cool playground (when I really meant to go to Holland Park... more on that later) but got off on a whim at Leicester Square instead. I was determined to visit the LEGO Store again when it was not as crowded (as it had been two days before). I found it more easily this time and was in line before it even opened.
As I waited, I could see inside the store, where around 30 employees were standing in a circle having a meeting or a pep talk or something. When the doors opened, the employees applauded us customers as we entered. Well, then!
So yes, it was much less crowded this morning, and I was able to get more photos. And mayyybe I bought a few more things.
I grabbed some breakfast foods at McDonalds before heading to Hyde Park (again, I had intended to go to Holland Park.)
^Hyde Park geese & friends
Here's the funny thing -- I'd been to Hyde Park two years before... and I didn't even recognize it at first! At some point, something clicked, and I realized I'd gone to the "wrong" park. Okay, moving on...
My next destination was Portobello Road...
On Fridays the antique sellers come, so I had planned especially to come today. I bought a small vintage photo album, a postcard, and some mysterious photo negatives at one booth. Then around the corner, at another booth, they had tons of photos and postcards, and I spent about an hour poring through them. The sellers were a guy and his son... and their dog.
A Scottish movie director with the initials LR showed up and tried to haggle with these sellers for some lamps and other stuff. I knew she was a director because she told the men so. She was talking about all the people she'd worked with, including "Wack-een Phoenix." I don't know if a deal was ever struck, or if those Portobello Road lamps will show up in this movie, but I personally bought some cool items -- vintage photos, postcards, and even an old British I.D. card.
Meanwhile, I thought this guy on a nearby mural looked kind of familiar...
Next I headed to Holland Park (for reals this time!), passing through lots of posh neighborhoods, including Kensington, with houses that looked like they belonged to the Banks family from Mary Poppins.
Finally I made it to Holland Park. Sadly, its playgrounds turned out to be surrounded by fences and shrubs, and there were signs that said no adults were allowed in without kids. (I get it... but darn!) I could kind of peek in though -- the playgrounds were interesting, lots of wood, but in the end I wasn't too upset I couldn't get any photos.
^The one and only photo I took inside Holland Park, as I sat and ate my McDonald's biscuit and jam.
I took a bus to the Victoria & Albert museum next.
^I did a double take when I saw this table, because I was sure I'd seen it before! I'd either seen its twin or a replica of it when I was in Scotland (of course, now I can't remember where.)
I spent around an hour at the museum. The V&A is huge; I could've extended my visit, no problem -- but I had one more thing I wanted to do in London, and that was attend an Evensong service at Westminster Abbey.
I arrived just as they were letting people in the doors. The bells were ringing and they were not music to my ears. Inside was very pretty, but they don't want people taking photos during the services (or before or afterward either.) (But some people did. And got asked not to. And then still did.) The huge stained glass window was being lit by the sun... very pretty. I was able to get a program for the service on my phone to follow along (they also had paper ones available).
Westminster Abbey is shaped like a big cross, and the service took place toward the cross-section of that, uh, cross. The audience sat in folding chairs in the two cross arms, facing toward the center. I was in the fifth row back, and could not see a whole lot of the action personally. I was, however, able to rely on the closed-circuit TV they had high up on a wall.
I'd never been to an Anglican service before, and it was definitely different. Lots of smoke and Latin. About the only thing that felt familiar was the sermon and the passing of the offering plate.
After it ended, I walked to a metro station and returned to St. Pancras/King's Cross, where I got some dinner. Then, back at my hotel, I packed as much as I could. The next day I would be leaving London and heading for Southampton!
Next up... Southampton! Cue the James Horner music!
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