London and Such

So lately we've had a really lovely stretch of sunshine-filled days. I think I may be a bit spoiled and when this rain stuff I hear about sets in I shall certainly miss the sun! But sun does make for some good wandering. One evening it was out to Trafalgar Square to briefly visit the National Gallery before it closed for the evening.

Yay Nelson!

So lovely and classicy.

The view of the Square from the Gallery

Inside was a most impressive collection of all things art and a handful of those things you see in books all the time. Except on the wall in a frame... it was fabulous! My brief waltz through the Gallery was graciously hosted by Dimitrios, a fine arts student I met here.

Van Eyke

Davinci

Caravaggio

Monet

And again...

And one more!

I actually forgot this artist's name, but it was such pretty pointillism!

Renoir

Van Gogh

Sunflowers!

From there we went to this little bar that had a nice garden but was tucked away underground. The most exciting part was a stretch that was too low to stand up in all the way and was only lit by candles! It was quite fun.

Another night required checking out the local pubs. This one is just a brief walk away and covered in lovely greenery.

The inside is quite red, but covered with a curious collection of antiques. It kind of reminded me of a Cracker Barrel... but with beer instead of breakfast all day. It was nice though!

Other adventures included the quest for a student railcard application which took me inside the impressive architecture of the King's Cross station.

Which is right near the St. Pancras Hotel. Still one of my favorite things to photograph!

This little caryatid porch is actually attached to a church not far from the Institute building that seems to be undergoing some renovation. I am curious to see what the inside of the place looks like!

Fire station!

Look Jenn! Sinatra!

I happened upon the Carnaby Street area, but it was really nice. There are lots of little shops - clothing, food, etc. - but it consists of a handful of blocks that are all pedestrian.

And then I found this light bulb street! They look so much cooler in real life...

I stopped in for a pot of tea in a place that will serve you cocktails in a teapot. Which sounds like a fabulously entertaining idea. (Don't worry mom, it's just tea!)

Dark-time light bulbs!

So many of the stately old buildings are lit up at night, which makes them glow in all sorts of different colors.

And then it was on to test my cooking skills! So far I have managed not to starve...

A bit of introductory information from the Institute also included some time out in the sunshine with a couple of the other girls in my program. Everyone was out enjoying it!

Here's hoping that the sunshine keeps up!