Galleries and Gardens

Saturday 18 July - Ian had to attend a conference in London, so I took advantage of the opportunity to have a place to stay overnight in the city and explore London. I arrived in London late Friday night and had dinner with Ian. The next day while Ian was at the conference I took a long walk around the city. I made it a point to not take the underground so as to enjoy the nice weather and to explore new areas. I started from Russell Square and walked to the British Museum and walked through their Indian landscape display. It was then through the theatre district to Covent square market. From there I made my way to Leicester square and then spent a few hours in the National Gallery. Through Trafalgar square to St. James' park. A leisurely stroll through the park and it gardens to Buckingham, along the Mews and up to Knightsbridge and over to Harrod's where I enjoyed perusing the ornate food halls and the egyptian hall. Onto the V&A for a couple of hours then through Hyde park and up to Regent's Park. My favorite park in London, Regent's park had a lot to offer in the summer. The rose garden was spectacular with an amazing amount of varieties of roses including some I had never seen before. I also visited the amazing Avenue Gardens with its urns, fountains and topiaries. In the ponds there were a variety of waterfowl including some really cute ducklings. I met up with Ian outside the park and we walked to the Hotel, then went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby.