Easterweekend London, part 2

[beelikej]

How did I end up with hundreds of photos after not even two full days in London? I never realize I take so many in between ogling the buildings and walking (so.much.walking). Obviously I didn't post them all, but it's definitely a picspam;) If you missed the first post, it's here. I'm continuing with Easter Sunday when I went to Camden, Choccywoccydoodah and the newly discovered SkyGarden before my afternoon date with Kevin Spacey. (What? I was close enough to the stage to touch, it totally counts as a date).
Ready? Let's go! (Click on the photos to zoom:)

Sunday 5 April
Okay, fine, I won't bore you with another picture of my English Breakfast; I had my usual in the hotel restaurant. I know the quality is not that great, but I love it and it makes me feel like a tourist;) After breakfast I had meant to leave my backpack in storage in the hotel, but the queue was ridiculous, so I figured I might as well bring it to the station for the rest of the day. So I traveled to Victoria, queued in that line instead and got the tube back up North to Camden.


To my surprise the Camden Lock Village Market had been torn down! Fortunately there are still plenty of shops left (and the big market at the Stables is still there, don't worry;).
On the right some interactive street art; you can spin the different body parts to create your own sexy lady;)


More street art: a tiny mask on the wall, very funky! I did some quick shoeshopping and found some brown pointy dress shoes. It seems like the type of punk multicoloured step-in I was looking for doesn't exist anymore *pouts*
For lunch I went back to Choccywoccydoodah, where I was lucky enough to be allowed right away to the Bar du Chocolat; they only had room for one upstairs, yay! Had lemoncake, it was delish. *big grin*


View from the window and on the right a selection of cakes. I brought a slice of the Five Layered Cake home with me (handed it out the next day to family in Amsterdam and Zwolle:)


After a bit of drooling at the cake display in the downstairs shop, I got back on the tube. Love the design and clever text on the warning posters.


Got off the tube at Monument where I saw -ehm- the Monument and after a bit of nervously running around I found the high building I was looking for, pfew. (I'll get back to that Monument later;)
Entrance to the Sky Garden has to be arranged online and your ticket is only valid for a limited time so after the tube had taken longer than I had anticipated, I entered the building all flustered and with only a couple of minutes to spare, waaah! Worth the stress though: check it out:


Walking up the garden on the 35th floor, looking over the atrium with the glorious view of London. Yeah, so I took photos of the ceiling as well, it's an awesome structure, I had to.


The tower and Tower Bridge from behind the window, the river Thames from the balcony. Look at the tiny people below!


See if you can find Big Ben. (It's to the left of big ferris wheel The Eye).


Hey look, it's that Monument near the tube station; we'll get back down there in a minute. First we have some more buildings to admire;)


See what I mean?


Aaand here's the monument in all its glory. No time to climb it though (and I doubt I'd be impressed after the view from the Sky Garden) - time to travel to Waterloo for Kevin!


Hello, Old Vic, I missed you. Oh, hi Kevin. *blushes*

This was the second time I got to see Clarence Darrow and instead of waaaay up high on the balcony I sat about six rows from the round stage. It was brilliant.


After the theatre I went to Victoria station to pick up my backpack (had to take a photo of the huge poster; what is going on with that lady's legs?) and walked to the coach station.
Love the window behind the busking pitch. Hey, tanisafan, look: I found an even funnier destination than Cockfosters! *smirk* (Click to zoom and see if you can find it;)


Bonus photos Amsterdam

Got on the bus around 21:30, the busdriver drove like a maniac to catch the midnight ferry to Dunkirk, so the bus arrived in Amsterdam 2 hours ahead of schedule. A bit early to wake my brother, but after an additional journey on subway and tram I called him anyway so I could crash on his couch for a bit;)


Look at the cool blinky-light system on the Amsterdam Subway! After we had some more sleep, brotherdearest and I did a quick bikeride through Amsterdam. Unfortunately the shop was out of my honey bodypowder, but the trip into the city was not a complete waste, as we got to see the sun light up these beautiful facades!


Pretty cool, huh? On the right my view from the train as it arrived at my home town. What a trip.

I took a bus to my moms who treated me to a festive dinner and listened to my London adventures before driving me home.

The end.

Comments

[meesasometimes.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, that was definately a date with Kevin *nodding enthusiasticly*

I love those shots from the skygarden, lovely, and I WANNA RIDE ON THE FERRIS WHEEL!!!! *stomps feet* I love to be up high like that. Mostly safe.

as always I'm drooling onto my keyboard over the sweets. "cockermouth"lol

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*beams*

That Ferris Wheel is HUGE: no seats but sort of eggs/cocoons where you can stand and walk around in to look over the Thames. I've never been in it, it's always very busy. I definitely want to try it in the future though.

Ha! I should have know you'd find that destination *grins* Heehee, oh, England.

[sillie]

Another set of great pictures. The view from the Sky Garden is amazing. <3

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Tnx. I was so happy the Sky Garden was worth the stress and running to get there on my timeslot. Recommended! (Free!)

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

That interactive street art is pretty clever! I love the Sky Garden, it's lovely to see the city from such a height. You always take the bestest photos and I could stare at all the buildings (the architecture is so awesome!) for hours. Yummy treats and Kevin Spacey, too!!! Looks like such an awesome trip!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

I love that I discover something new in London every time; the Sky Garden was a last minute addition because I feared everything else would be closed on Easter Sunday. As it turns out the market and lots of smaller shops were still open, so I almost ran out of time in the end;)

Kevin is such a powerhouse of an actor. I had seen this play already, but it was absolutely awesome to see it again up close. ::hearteyes::