A Trip to Denmark Street and Covent Gardens

Originally Denmark street was laid out in the 17th century and named after King George of Denmark. In the 19th and 20th centuries it became a hub for sheet music sales, instrument shops and music publishers and in the mid 20fh century it attracted many famous musicians. Some notable names are David Bowie, Elton John, The Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols.

Today Denmark is still home to many instrument shops and recording studios but the surrounding area has been demolished and redeveloped.

After exploring the street and checking out the guitars at No Tom Guitars we were in pursuit of lunch. We walked down some small streets with very trendy shops and we ended up in Covent Garden.

By the time we decided on Buns and Buns for lunch it was already mid afternoon so we only ordered a couple appetizers so that we wouldn’t spoil our appetites for dinner. A bit pricey but very tasty. https://www.bunsandbuns.com/

A Surprise Visit to Abby Road

then lunch in a pub and a walk through Hyde Park

Kevin decided to surprise me with a secret itinerary into central London today. We walked to the Arsenal Station and took the Piccadilly line to Green Park and then transferred onto the Jubilee line. Three stops later we got off at St. John’s Wood.

As we started walking Kevin hesitated for a moment and checked his phone for directions. A kind man asked if we were looking for Abby Road. Our destination was no longer a surprise but I was very moved by Kevin’s plan. He knows that I was and still am a big Beatles fan.

The famous crossing on Abby Road

The actual studio is heavily guarded but there is a gift shop that is open to the public.

We considered going to some of the other iconic Beatles landmarks but they were all very far apart and not easy to walk to so we opted to get some lunch instead.

We headed to Bakers Street and had a nice meal at the Allsop Arms. I had the steak sandwich and lemonade and Kevin had the chicken BLT and a non alcoholic Peroni.

The forecasted rain held off and we made our way south to Hyde Park. We entered from the north east side and continued along the path towards the Serpentine Lake. As we got closer to the lake we were happy to see benches to rest our weary feet.

After a short rest we continued heading south to the south end of Hyde Park.

On the way out of the park I saw the rose garden and suggested to Kevin that he could rest some more while I quickly checked out the flowers.

All in all it was a great outing and when we got home Brendan cooked us dinner and Sevin set up her hairdressing parlour and gave Oma and Big Papa a makeover. If our son shares his photos with me I might share them with you. All I can say is that it was crazy fun and there was a lot of laughing.

A Walk Through Camden Passage in Angel

closer to home

We didn’t want to go too far afield today because we had to pick up Sevin from school. After a good hearty breakfast at the flat we headed out to catch the #4 bus to Islington Green.

We stopped in Waterstones bookstore to look around and purchased a couple of paperbacks. After that we were desperate for a coffee and we stopped at the same coffee kiosk that we went to the last time we were here. Once we were satisfactorily caffeinated we continued our journey down Camden Passage.

We stopped in a great cheese store and purchased some yummy cheeses made in Britain. One of the cheeses, the cheddar to be exact came from a dairy in Devon. The cheese monger told us that he had been to that dairy and he claimed that the owner knew her cheese as well as she knew her cows. She has a herd of over 100 cows and she has named each one.

Before heading home to pick up Sevin we stopped at Cass Art to pick up more sketchbooks and watercolour paper. All in all a very enjoyable afternoon.

Pull Up a Seat at the V&A East Storehouse

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

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…..

A Trip to Angel

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.

Judy’s Numbers Game Photo Challenge

thanks to Judy Dykstra-Brown for hosting the Numbers Game https://judydykstrabrown.com/2025/04/27/the-numbers-game-70-apr-28-2025-come-play-along/

This weeks number is 191.