After returning from Ireland it was time for a spot of shopping.
No, just kidding, it was time to visit some museums. Mike went to the Science Museum, while I went to the Victoria and Albert museum around the corner; a big corner. These museums are pretty big!
I appreciated this rather large tapestry of a boar and deer hunt, from 1425:
Saw a few very old books:
Even an old pair of socks.
Dated 300-500AD. Made to wear with sandals. And a rather old pair of leather shoes too, dated 400-600. 🙂
You never know what you’ll see next in a museum! There was even this very old wooden store front from central London:
And an old spiral staircase from the 1500s:
Then there was the glass collection.
And the ceramic collection, dating back to 3500BC.
Then the furniture section, complete with furniture designed by an American architect that we are very familiar with:
And this rather interesting bench:
And of course many classical pieces of furniture also.
There were some rather nice old gowns too.
They had a model of the Crystal Palace from back in the day:
Along with this painting of Victoria and Albert (and a few others!) visiting it.
The Great Bed of Ware was pretty big, it dates from 1590, and is twice the size (10×11 feet) of one that was normal for this period:
I had time for a brief look at the Raphael collection and then it was out onto the street to meet up with Mike.
That isn’t Mike. 😉 Just a picture I took while waiting for Mike, of these cafes that are in the middle of the streets!
We admired these old apartments near Kensington Palace.
Then we entered the Kensington Palace gardens.
Where every man and his dog can walk!
The back of Kensington Palace:
Inside:
Outside we had an avid watcher while we ate!
We then headed for the Portobello Markets, quite an interesting place where you can buy just about anything!
Even a very old doll’s house!
We finished the day here:
Where Christmas decorations were already up!
And window dressings too.
It was time to eat so we went into this pub and had good ol’ fish ‘n’ chips. 🙂
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