Sunday 10 April 2011

A grand day out

Good morning! It's a lovely sunny day here in North Norfolk, so I thought I'd pop in to tell you about our trip to London yesterday before I busy myself with 'jobs'! We had an early start, leaving home just before 7am, but were soon settled on the train. I had my Cinder Block socks to keep me company, along with a hot bacon roll. Yum yum!

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Once in London, we took the Underground a couple of stops, before getting off at St Paul's to walk in the spring sunshine. The dome of St Paul's looked magnificent against the fresh green leaves.


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I could hear the sound of a piano being played - you can imagine my surprise when behind a London bus appeared a pianist on a bicycle! Taking street entertaining literally! You certainly see it all in London!


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We walked across the Millennium Bridge to go and visit the Tate Modern. Luckily the dangerous swaying problems are long gone, and plenty of people were crossing.


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Neither Mr JK nor I had been to this gallery before. Modern art isn't especially my 'thing', but it's somewhere that I've wanted to visit for a long time. I do find it odd what's considered to be 'art' - an octagon of white paper glued to the wall, a throwaway battery still in its packaging! Oh well, it takes all sorts! I did manage to sniff out some knitting-related art by the Italian sculptor Marisa Merz. She often includes crafts traditionally associated with women in her work.


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We admired, from above, the sunflowers seeds created by the Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei. It's incredible to think that each one of the millions of porcelain sunflower seeds has been hand-crafted. Visitors used to be able to walk over them, until it was discovered that they had been decorated with paint containing lead, and that walking on them might cause the release of tiny particles of lead dust into the air. But just looking at them was quite amazing!


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We headed to Borough market for lunch, and enjoyed traditional British food - fish, chips and mushy peas at Fish! What could be better? The beer batter was so light, it was delicious!


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After lunch we wandered around Borough market - it's a busy, vibrant place, packed with stalls selling food from around the world. Mr JK was delighted to find a German deli selling Teewurst, and an artisan bread stall selling authentic German bread. Guess what he ate for breakfast this morning?! We left the bustle of the market to walk along the side of the river, past Shakeseare's Globe theatre ......


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and back to the Tate Modern, where I admired the beautiful walkway of trees. They seemed rather magical to me.


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What a great way to start the holidays! I'll see you again soon with some yarn-related stuff! I have lots to show you! Enjoy your day! xxx

6 comments:

WildflowerWool said...

Looks like you had a great Spring day for your outing. Great socks too!

Kathy said...

We were in London in February .... and didn't get to Tate Modern or the Globe although they're on my list for next time! The spring sunshine makes everything look wonderful!
Enjoy your break!
xxx

snoopydogknits said...

Looks like a really grand day out! I could eat that plate of fish and chips right now!Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, my 'old chum'!

melissa said...

what wonderful pictures!
thank you for posting them, makes me want to take a trip to london.
and to eat a bacon roll!!

Unknown said...

mmm what a great day out! I am missing trips to London so much!! must try and go soon. loving your sock's btw!

Jennyff said...

Gosh you packed a lot into your day, including some lovely grub. Hope the rest of the week is as good.