More Museums and a little bit of shopping

To pick up on my last blog about London museums, I have to bring up the two classics. Located adjacent to each other they make for a great day of culture, but leave some room to wander through the surrounding neighborhoods, because now you’re in Knightsbridge and oh…may want to leave the credit cards at home. Pricey but soooo beautiful.

The Victoria and Albert museum’s  30′ Chihuly fixture in the great hall Rotunda is a stunning contrast to the classic architecture and was added in 2000.

The courtyard, a place to rest near the spectacular water feature and let it all sink in. The V&A is all about fashion, design, textiles, photography and artifacts  from all over the world and you are sure to find inspiration for  a project but to me the most inspiring thing is to watch local students and art lovers sit and reflect or sketch some of the masterpieces. Observing people as they make a museum part of their daily life to me is a priceless experience.

Just next door is the Museum of Natural History, a great place to bring children and explore dinosaurs, amphibians, mammals, fossils…you name it. And again, to me, the architecture itself is what leaves me breathless.

Just outside these temples of culture we find the even more popular temples of shopping. Harrods, Liberty and smaller shops like this Few and Far:

Few and Far on Brompton Road in London carries an eclectic mix of housewares, clothing (much of it Asian inspired), furniture and, as one would expect…cars. Amazing quilted silk velvet kimonos and bedding. Yummy!

If you don’t have culture and shopping in mind then head towards Hyde Park and go for a leisurely stroll, it’s healthy,  beautiful and if you can handle a mile or so you end up at the always surprising Serpentine Gallery for a bit more culture before finally finding the nearest pub.