Exploring Interesting Places

 Monday (cont). Dinner was delicious - Pad Thai, and great company.  Very pleasant evening all round.

Tuesday

We travelled into the city to St Batholomew's Hospital.  The North Wing and Hogarth Stair were part of the original administration block and have recently been restored and repaired.  The North Wing was built in the 1730s and is open to the public on Monday and Tuesday, for free  The murals, painted by Hogarth, include the Pool of Bethesda and the Good Samaritan, and the ceiling of the Great Hall intricately gilded.  It was an absolute gem and well worth a visit.  We also had a quick look at the hospital museum but it was full of scary looking ancient medical devices!

From there we travelled to Bayswater to view a couple of potential flats for Ella.  The area is perfect, near Kensington Garden and close to Queensway, with restaurants, supermarkets and a range of really nice shops.  Neither of the flats were really options - they are so small and crazy expensive.

Back on the tube and a walk to the supermarket before heading 'home'.  We did a few more chores around the flat and had dinner ready for Ella when she got home from work.

Wednesday

Back on the tube and 'escorted' Ella into work.  The tube was crazy busy, apparently not normal but a reminder that we are in a huge city.

We were going to Sicilian Avenue a Grade 2 listed Edwardian avenue in Holborn. but unfortunately it was closed due to some extensive restoration work.  The buildings were started in the early 1900s, designed in a Baroque Revival style, using Italian marble and terracotta, with Italian and classical motifs.  Even though we could only see a small number of buildings, they were pretty impressive. 

Then on to the British Museum where we visited the clock and watch, and the money exhibitions.  Both really interesting.  We could have stayed there for hours, but even passing through the other exhibits was worth the time.

From there we walked to Covent Garden with a stop for a hot chocolate along the way.  I remembered Hotel Chocolate from when were here previously and it was just as good.  Seventy percent chocolate with chocolate whipped cream on the top.  The perfect injection of energy to keep us on the go.  Covent Garden is a lovely spot and we stopped to enjoy a string trio playing classical music.

We tubed to Waterloo and walked to Leake Street, also known as the Banksy Tunnel.  It is a road tunnel in Lambeth where graffiti is legal and promoted.  The street is about 300 metres long and runs under the platform and tracks of Waterloo Station.  The walls are decorated with graffiti, initially created during the Cans Festival organised by Banksey in 2008.  It is a riot of colour and different styles and a feast for the eyes.

In the afternoon we walked to Kilburn Road, about 15 minutes, to the closest Lloyds Bank, to close an account that we have had for about 35 years.  Funny, it was way easier to close the account than it had been to open it all those years ago.

I later caught the train into Oxford Circus to meet Ella and we had dinner at Bread Store - the biggest slices of pizza ever seen, and delicious.  We met her friend Samarah and went to the musical The Devil Wears Prada.  Lots of fun and the costumes were stunning - I love going to the theatre in London.

Thursday

Up early, which was a bit of a struggle after a late night, and Ella and I headed to Slone Square and the Chelsea Flower Show.  There were lots of people wearing floral dresses, comfortable shoes and flower fascinators.  When we arrived at the show it wasn't too busy but, within a couple of hours it was a heaving mass.  We visited the Grand Pavilion first, which was a good move, and saw amazing small gardens and floral arrangements.  It was interesting seeing the different varieties of flowers and the ways in which they were combined.  It was a bucket list moment for me and I was in my happy place.  It was hard to get a decent look at the gardens outside, due to the crowds, but we did enjoy seeing what we could.  Lots of stalls selling an array of flower and gardening related goods.  I did treat myself to three metal poppies for my garden - getting them home might be interesting.

The shops and businesses around the Slone Square area had interesting floral and garden related displays that we enjoyed on our walk to and from the station.

Getting back to the tube was crazing.  The crowds heading to the show created a massive jam and we had to battle our way through, trying to go in the opposite direction.  So glad that we had gone early.  On the way back we went to Ikea where Ella got lots of ideas for things for her (potential) new flat.  We also went to Goldhawk Road, where there are numerous fabric stores.  Again I had to be reserved, but Ella found some lovely black suiting to make herself a new blazer. 

David had been out for a bike ride and managed to get back just before us as he had the key.  Weather is warming up ahead of the predicted heatwave.

We have extended our time here for an additional two days, felt that we wanted to support Ella for as long as possible, so now fly out Monday morning.  Means we will have two less days in Singapore, but we're happy with the plan change and we get to have the weekend together.