Oh, what a day I had on Saturday! Abigail and I had a Big Day Out in London. It was heaven. I don't often go to London, and I should go more as it only took two and a half hours to get there. It has changed so much since I last went. Indulge me if you will with this post, a bit of a travelogue from a woman who should probably craft less and get out more.
At 7.05am my train left Leeds and I enjoyed time with a coffee and a magazine and no interruptions. Abigail met me from my train and we walked through the new (well, new to me) swanky St Pancras Station and admired the Olympic Rings.
We walked up to the British Library
and went to the Illuminated Manuscripts Exhibition, which was fascinating and quite awe inspiring.
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| Behind those pillars and black frames lives the King's Library Tower, a collection full of rare treasures and not open to the public. I think you practically have to be the Queen to go in there. |
After a short taxi ride
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| Look, a London bus! |
we reached The Athenaeum Hotel where we had the honey high tea. The honey comes from bees in Regent's Park and it was utterly delicious.
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| Now that is a cake trolley. |
Then it was time to do a spot of shopping. Laduree for macaroons.
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| Photographed the next day at home - the lemon one suffered a bit as I bumped all my shopping bags around Regent's Street then home on the train. |
Then to Liberty for fabric, among other things.
and on to Hamleys Toy Shop (which can only be described as a wall of noise) for souvenirs for the kids, then to Oxford Street, which just made me want to run away. All those people. Oxford Circus is crazy.
Then, exhausted, back to St Pancras for an early supper in The Booking Office, a lovely bar which used to be the actual booking office. I remember queueing in there to buy my tickets for the Leicester train when I was a student, many years ago.
And thanks to a copy of Mollie Makes to read on the journey home, I opened the front door at 11.30pm SO tired and broke but happy from a day of friendship and laughing and fun and bursting with new crafting ideas.
You have better photos than me and have done the day justice! I will totally be linking to your post ;)
ReplyDeleteYour photos were pretty darn good - I need an iPhone! xx
DeleteWow! What a great day. You have captured it beautifully with your photos. It must have been such a treat to be able to go exactly where you and Abi wanted to go. No thoughts of pushchairs, high chairs, whether there was anything on the menu that the kids would eat and how far away the nearest park was in case they got bored. A perfectly adult day out. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI'm visitng a friend on the outskirts of London on Wednesday which will be fun but probably not as cultured as your day as she has just had a baby. She's still at the stage where just getting ready to go out takes half the day. It will be great to see her though and have newborn cuddles.
By the way, I finished the baby mobile and will email you some photos!
Yes, it was so nice not to have to plan the day around the whims of small people! Enjoy the baby cuddles and well done for finishing the mobile, I can't wait to see the photos. xx
DeleteAfternoon tea, fabric from Liberty and macaroons to take home. What a perfect day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a rare treat. Trouble is, I've got a bit of a taste for macaroons now!
DeleteWow - what a fantastic day. I need to know more about those macaroons...
ReplyDeleteLemon - amazing, salted caramel - AMAZING, rose - ok but a bit too "floral" for my tastes and pistachio - green and nutty and delicious. I'm afraid i did pick the macaroons based on colour as well as flavour though!
Deletethey look incredible - added to my to do list for April!
DeleteI'm so envious! I really need a trip to the big city... I'm not sure whether I'm more jealous of the British Library trip, the time spent in Liberty or that amazing cake trolley...
ReplyDeleteHi Emma, yes, we all need an away day every now and then, I think. It's good for the soul!
DeleteHello Gillian, and greetings from Australia, (just south of Sydney)! I have been reading your lovely blog for a few weeks now, and this post is just wonderful. You certainly went to the best places...Takes me back to my own travels to London years ago, and I'm still missing it! Oh, and happy birthday for the other day! All the best, Liz
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment. You have well and truly made my day! :-) Gillian x
DeleteYes, i know, no more duplicate posts from now on, I promise! Gillian x
ReplyDelete