A short history of my holiday

Seven days in London!

It costs a lot to travel at Christmas, and to stay in London, but amusement there is often free. We did our best to spend our time doing free things, and except for Westminster Abbey and a bookshop or two, we managed it.

We avoided the queue at the Abbey by booking our tickets in advance

It is so great having giant, top-rate, all-encompassing museums free to the public. We saw the British Museum, the Museum of London, the Tate Modern, National Gallery, Science Museum, V&A, Natural History Museum... I think that's it.

The Natural History Museum is a fantastic work of art itself

We also mostly had beautiful (but a tad cold) weather, so enjoyed the riverbanks and wandering about.

Late afternoon skyline, our first day there

There were some less-than-perfect days as well.

I would hate to have booked tickets for the London Eye in advance

It was definitely a museum-based holiday, perfect for wintertime.

I learned about Instagram on this trip. At the end of the day I could post pictures from our flat, where we had wi-fi, and share them to Facebook or Twitter via Instagram. Now, can I find you a link to my account.... Here you go, I think.

I also learned that my phone, though it is not great as a camera, is way more convenient than my actual camera. I took about 10 pictures on the camera, and leventy-million on the phone. Now I want a new phone with a better camera!

Those of you who have been around this blog since the beginning will know that I have a thing for British pillar boxes. I saw very few, and I'll show them to you later, I think. I didn't drag the kids to the far suburbs of London to find an Edward VIII box, nor did I even search out the Penfold in Kensington which seems to feature in a lot of movies. I did stumble across one anonymous box the night before we left, and this is the very last picture I took.

Why do I always find these things when the rest of the family is dashing across the street in the dark?

Now, just a few pictures, if I can edit ruthlessly!

Holding up a bench on the Embankment

We were amazed at the sumptuousness of the fabric, National Gallery

The "walk" lights at Trafalgar Square are inclusive of all

Lunchtime

So wonderful. 

Lion hunt, British Museum

Who wouldn't like to live in a chequered building?

The Barbican

Museum of London

Natural History Museum

A chicken dish in the V&A

Glaze samples for a potter, V&A

I'm glad we had this warning

Look, there really were pelicans!

On the Victoria Memorial

A jumble of styles at the Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Walkie-Talkie, Cheese-Grater, Gherkin and Tower

At the Tate Modern

And as the sun sets in the west, we say "Farewell" to Swinging London. I think we need another post about pillar boxes and the Tube, and maybe even some knitting, but that's it for now.