As we are off work over the Christmas period we have been out and about. Today we went down to London. Our first destination was the Victoria and Albert Museum. The last time I was there was for the Pink Floyd exhibition, but they have lots of other treasures. The building itself is quite something to see. The weather was kind and we could have a drink outside.
In the lobby they have this impressive sculpture handing from the dome. The gift shop is quite something too.
We had to pass through the jewellery gallery that has treasures from across the ages. There were items from Catherine the Great as well as a ring from Beyonce.
Our primary reason for going was a special exhibition about musicals. My girls are big fans. There were costumes, props, programmes, stage models and more. This outfit is from Moulin Rouge, with orphan Annie behind.
This dress was worn by Julie Andrews in the stage production of My Fair Lady, but she did not get to star in the movie version. This temporary exhibition was free to enter and you can enter the museum in general for nothing, but they appreciate donations. You do need to pay for some exhibitions though.
The permanent theatrical exhibit has much more, including a Star Wars stormtrooper.
There are some real classic items such as a hat and cane used by Charlie Chaplin.
We had time to look at other galleries, but you need several days to see everything. We did the silver gallery which has to be worth a fortune.
By this time we were hungry and so got on the Tube across to Bond Street and the nearby The Ivy Asia restaurant. This is a very striking place. The whole floor is lit up through slices of fancy stone and the ceilings have Japanese paintings of dragons. They also have lots of cherry blossom.
I had to make use of the facilities and found this guy in there. He greeted me with 'konnichi wa' and I had to check if he was real.
We had ordered afternoon tea. This is a family tradition and we have had some great ones at places like The Dorchester. This was a little different. Instead of sandwiches and scones we had sushi, dumplings and skewers. Then there were passion fruit doughnuts, assorted mochi (sweet rice cakes), chocolate mousse and brownies. It all arrived on a big wooden platter. They go all out for presentation. We saw other meals delivered on metal swans and some of them gave off clouds of steam. It was all delicious. I am not a tea drinker, so I had coffee.
I also had a beer that came with a pre-chilled, very heavy glass.
We finished the day with a little shopping. I have to say that Oxford Street is something like my idea of hell with all the chain stores and crowds, but there were some tempting bargains. I got some jeans and some running shorts.
It was a long day with lots of walking, but a lot of fun.