Friday, June 19, 2015

A Dream of England - Day Three




     It rains this morning. Of course it does, but I didn't come to London without my umbrella. The rain moves off and leaves the day as humid as Chicago. We are shopping the outdoor market on Portobello Road in Notting Hill. I buy a linen dress made in Italy and a doorknob.

     I have planned too much to do for such a warm day. By the time we have ogled the mansions and embassies in Kensington Palace Gardens on our way to the Natural History Museum, we are flagging. Regrettably, I will have to save Hyde Park for another time. I hope there will be another time. I had visions of sitting alongside the Serpentine with a sandwich and novel for an hour or two.




Green Ringneck Parakeet in Kensington Palace Gardens


     The architecture of the Natural History museum is incredible. It is the primary reason we have stopped here instead of the Victoria and Albert just down the street. If you don't already know, we have a passion for architecture. So despite the heat and fatigue, we take over a hundred photos of windows, tiles, arches and columns. I have difficulty selecting a modest half dozen for my blog post.














     I suppose there were some exhibits to see in the museum, dinosaur bones and the like, but our eyes were too full of stone to notice.




6 comments:

  1. I think my heart literally skips a beat as I enjoy your photos. thank-you SO much for sharing.

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  2. I think you have so much to share and I am hoping we will be able to get together some time in the near future and be able to see your photos and hear your accounting of this remarkable time ! ( BTW, the statue of the dog appears to be one of our Viszla, one of the oldest known breeds of dogs , reputably owned only by royalty)

    What an amazing trip for you !

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    1. I took that picture with my zoom lens. He was keeping watch at the highest peak of the rooftop of the museum.

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  3. You certainly were able to indulge you passion for architecture in the museum, even if you'd never stepped foot outside it. Magnificent hardly seems enough to describe the few examples you've shown here.

    As someone who has "stone love", have you ever read Rumer Godden's In This House of Brede? I empathized with the mother superior who had stone love as my eye is invariably drawn to any building made of stone.

    Those columns alone in the museum, glorious!

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    1. I have never even heard of the book, Dewena, but will be looking for it at the library this week. Have you ever read Edith Pargeter's Heaven Tree trilogy? Another stone love book. It was often in my mind the day we spent in Oxford. I will be posting a book report for it in the near future.

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