Category Archives: England

Pull Up a Seat at the V&A East Storehouse

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…thanks to Xing Fu Mama for hosting the Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge https://xingfumama.blog/2025/05/30/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2025-week-22/

The V&A East Storehouse officially opens to the public this weekend. Kevin and I were given a private tour of the facility on Thursday by our son Brendan.

Vivienne Chow from Artnet News has written an excellent article about this amazing space and one press release said that ´the museum is the exhibit’ . https://news.artnet.com/art-world/inside-va-east-storehouse-2651021?amp=1

One place where you can actually pull up a seat is here where you can recline back and enjoy this wooden Spanish fresco from the 15th century.

Here are a few more seats to enjoy.

If you live in London or are planning a trip to this great city, the V&A East Storehouse is a must see.

A Trip to Piccadilly and the Royal Academy of Art

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…the bus took 29 stops before we arrived at our destination

By the time we arrived in Piccadilly we needed a coffee. We knew that we were going to a pay a premium price going into the bistro that we chose but we didn’t care. We just wanted a comfortable place to sit, a good cup of coffee and a small treat. We thoroughly enjoyed our coffees and Kevin said that his pain de raisin was the best one he ever had. I checked the prices for the same thing in the art gallery coffee shop and they were very similar. In fact coffee everywhere in London runs about £4 or more in coffee shops.

After being thoroughly caffeinated we headed out to find the Royal Academy of Art. We walked too far and passed some very pricey shops but happened to stumble upon a gallery shop featuring David Hockney. Kevin and I love his work but a single print sells for £80,000.

We had a very nice conversation with gallery administrator about Hockney’s work and she directed us back to the RAA.

The Royal Academy of Art is featuring the drawings of Victor Hugo, the famous French author and play write from the 19th century.

More about the RAA tomorrow…..

One Item from the Bucket List

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…Andrea really wanted to try the long noodles at Xi’an Impression

On our long walking excursion yesterday we passed the Arsenal Stadium and found the restaurant that Andrea had on her list of places to visit while in London. Xi’an Impression is a very popular Vietnamese restaurant that many stadium goers enjoy. It is very small but we arrived at a good time and had no problem getting seated.

Andrea ordered the biang biang noodles and Brendan and I shared the smashed cucumber salad, pork filled dumplings and a Thai lemongrass chicken salad. Everything was delicious.

A Day of Learning to Ride a Bike, Trekking to Argos and Ending the Day at the Pub to Watch Arsenal Women Win the Championship

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Today started out slowly. We were waiting for our eldest daughter to arrive in London from Toronto before heading out for the day.

After Andrea arrived we took Sevin outside to practise learning how to ride her bike. She took a few spins of the driveway with her father close behind before we walked to Argos to pick up some pillows that we had ordered earlier in the day.

The walk to Argo’s was substantial and we stopped at a famous noodle house for a bite to eat. More about that tomorrow.

We also stopped at a Waitrose to pick up a few more groceries and decided to take a bus back home. We wanted to get back home in time to catch the UEFA Women’s Champions League at one of the local pubs.

After missing one bus because the driver didn’t stop, waiting for a second bus and then having to walk a ways we finally got home, put away the food and made our way to the pub with the whole family.

The first two pubs were packed and one didn’t allow children. We ended up in the pub closest to our flat and we got there in time to see Arsenal score the first and only point of the game. The pub erupted in cheers when the hometown team won the championship.

Sevin was delighted with the outcome and thoroughly enjoyed her pizza and chips.

A Trip to Angel

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… with the 19 bus

Today we decided to do a little shopping and explore the area around the Angel Station. We stopped at Itsu for some lunch and enjoyed a hot noodle bowl.

We explored some very cool side streets with fun artist owned galleries and outdoor cafes before we ended up at Cass Art Supplies to purchase some sketchbooks.