En route: London, part II

The second part of my London travel diaries exhibits the city in a bigger format, its more busy and modern sides.

I had been planning my visit with a book, London for Dummies by D. Olson. If you look for a good guidebook, I would recommend this one since it's written with a travel flair, here and there witty, rich in descriptions often indicating locations worth seeing from different standpoints, in terms of popularity, price etc. With the book at hand, I had prepared my own guide (almost 20 pages). I saw/visited/tasted nearly everything I had wanted to (major regret: didn't see the Chanel Exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld's The Little Black Jacket at the Saachi Gallery), though even a 7-day stay appeared to be too short!

When I arrived in London, the things I noticed firstly were readers immersed in J.K. Rowling's new novel, The Casual Vacancy, kids literally walking in a Gangnam style, cosmopolitanism of the City of Westminster and how I enjoyed small talks.

I spent my first morning at Tate Britain, which I loved mainly for Gerald Brockhurst and Augustus Leopold Egg's paintings. If you'd like to stroll a bit in a park, I'd recommend St. Jame's Park, though not only I've seen its advantages, it may get overcrowded. To have a peek at the way London grows up, I went to Canary Wharf, where I enjoyed my lunch with Jean Paul Gaultier (shout-outs to the Diet Coke can designers!). What Greenwich has to offer is charming taverns at foot of the hill, and pretty views overlooking the city from its top. I really enjoyed coming across Somerset House, the home to London Fashion Weeks, at night. Its courtyard is just excellent.

I dedicated the next couple of days to wandering around the Strand, East End, Camden Town (loved it) or Soho (Old Campton Street is the lungs of its night life), where I spent too much time at magazine kiosks. Trafalgar Square appears to be a good reference point in the street jungle. At National Gallery you may find some painting inspirations, even style-wise - mine was Portrait of a Gentleman by G. Battista Moroni (1555). I found my favourite exhibition at National Portrait Gallery - Marilyn Monroe: A British Love Affair.

What I love about London's East End is its alternative aura. To get insights into its street art, I attended the pay-as-you-wish Alternative London Tour, also recommended!

Other highlights include: the Opening Ceremony event with a small dinner in Covent Garden, seeing Shakespeare's play A Timing of a Shrew, peeking into designers' boutiques at Portobello Road, comparing Paddington Station to the one imagined when reading Harry Potter or live art performances at Tate Modern.

I also managed to take some outfit self-portraits, which I'm going to post in the upcoming days. I guess the editorial parts will contain more details on locations the photos were taken at.

 
Dream Fortress by Grimes