Hyde Park

 SONG - Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon

Day 33 - Sat. Jun 1

Breakfast at Paul’s and the tube to Temple Station. On our way to the Courtauld Museum today. It was a zoo outside as apparently there is some kind of big soccer final tonight between Germany & Spain here in London. But inside the museum it was calm, quiet and very few people. 

Manet

Van Gogh

Manet

Gauguin 

Van Gogh

Detail of painting above

Loved seeing their Impressionist paintings and spending time with each one.  And it was so quiet there that it felt like we had the museum to ourselves at times!

We were going to do something else downtown but it was too chaotic so we got a cab to Hyde Park and took a long leisurely walk through it. The cab we got was special to us as it was a Bridgerton cab and we have a very good friend who is now the show runner. 

Starting in the Hyde Park Italian gardens, 

then along the river to the Peter Pan Statue, 

watching birds nesting and children feeding the pigeons and swans out with their babies….

We came out of the park on the Kensington side and passed the Albert & Victoria Museum which is only a block from our hotel. It had large & small chunks taken out of it and what looked like bullet holes along its side exterior. 

When we arrived back in our room, I read that it had been bombed during the Blitz of WWII and although they had to do some structural repair work, they chose to leave some damage to show future generations what it had gone through. Impressive. 

Dinner tonight was at PJ’s Chelsea Brasserie which is about 4 blocks from our hotel. It was wonderful, casual, delightful and walkable! Yay. Great meal, wine and cozy atmosphere. Three thumbs up. 

Walked back to the Pelham and went to have nightcap in their bar. The bartender made us each designer drinks that he invented and both were delicious. 

Good day & good night!

A Change in Plans

 SONG - Bring it on Home to Me by Sam Cooke

(Or in my case “If You Ever Change Your Mind”)

Day 32 - Fri. May 31

Breakfast at the Crêperie across the street which was fun and reminded us of France. Then off to Westminster Abbey….which was sold out for the day. What?  It’s huge so how can it be full?? Drat….that made me sad and I had to quickly rethink our plans for the day. Where to next?  

The National Gallery has several rooms of Impressionist painting. That will cheer me up. Well done, it kind of cheered me up but it was packed and difficult to get close to a painting. But we preserved!! 

Van Gogh

Sorolla

Monet

Morisot

I thought of the close crowds & Covid halfway through but didn’t have a mask. There was an “sporting event” right in front of the museum at Trifalger Square which made movement outside on foot or in cabs impossible. We limped into a nearby cafe to get a cold drink and re-assess our next move. We suddenly realized it was almost 3 pm and our grandsons were going to FaceTime us shortly.

 We had a lovely visit with the boys where Henry warmly, calmly greeted us & said he really misses us.  Then Charlie got hold of the phone and ran around yelling “My YaYa, My YaYa, hi YaYa Papa” and everyone chasing him for the phone. So very sweet and thrilling in their own ways. 

The phone that I called them with…

Mr. B took this from a moving cab but it is 

Harry Potter playing at the Palace Theatre 

We walked down a few streets that Mr. B recognized as the theatre district and finally found a cab to bring us home. However it took us over an hour due to road construction, closures and barriers put up for a big event happening in a few weeks.  I felt sorry for the driver but after we paid the bill, I felt sorry for Mr. B!  Oooh, la, la. 

Dinner was at a Lebanese restaurant across the street that we had been to in 2017. Even though it was cold and windy we sat outside as they had heat lamps on. We had a good dinner and good wine. 

After dinner we walked to the “Thin House” which was interesting to see and only a block away. 

I decided last night that the rumble of the Underground reminds me of being at the ocean and hearing waves roaring in. Kind of a more soothing thought than a train in a tube beneath your room!

Called On Account of Rain

Song - All We Do - Oh Wonder - Cover by Sierra Eagleson


It's raining again here in California, so Mr. B and I decided to head to the art museum in San Francisco to see the Monet exhibit.  We timed it perfectly so we wouldn't get stuck in commuter traffic or the Giant's home opener traffic.  Off to the Legion of Honor! 

I showed the lady our online tickets, picked up our audio guides and went to walk in and saw.......

 ....this....

....and this.....oops.....that does not look like Monet!  It was a Rubens exhibit......did we miss it?
Nope.  I had the wrong museum!  So while we did take a quick peek at the Rubens show (not really our cup of tea) we quickly headed over to the deYoung to see Monet.

 Now that's better.......

 Just look at all the colors he used in this close-up........

The exhibit was titled - Monet: The Late Years and included about 50 pieces of art that he did from 1913-1926, where he spent most of his time at home in Giverny, his home near Paris France.

 He loved his garden and was passionate about his Lily Pond. He would often paint the same view at different times of the day to see how the colors changed.

 Once again, amazing color on top of color.

 In his later years he developed cataracts and eventually had surgery to correct his vision.  His palate changed from blues and greens to orange and yellows.

 But still powerful color....

 Also at the deYoung was a Gauguin exhibit that was interesting and is the first one at the Fine Arts Museum dedicated to the work of Paul Gauguin.

 He met and married his wife, a Danish women, Mette-Sophie Gad and they had five children.  After 11 years their marriage fell apart when Paul Gauguin decided to paint full time. 

This is a tiny portrait of his wife - about 3 x 4".

 Paul Gauguin - 1848-1904

 Similar to Monet, Gauguin had layer upon layer of color.

Amazing color in the water..... 

While Mr. B and I did get to see three amazing exhibits, we did miss our first home opener with the Giants in 19 years.  While returning home we saw the fireworks from the freeway and I had my camera ready for the fly-over (my favorite!) but alas we either missed it or they did not do it this year.

The only fly-over I saw was a big black crow flying over our car!

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." 

--Claude Monet