After our time in the countryside, we came back to London well-rested and ready for our final two days. We started the day with a stroll through Kensington Gardens (for real – London puts all other cities to shame when it comes to green spaces).
We made our way to the Peter Pan Statue – because what child (or adult!) doesn’t love the story about never having to grow up. The statue was commissioned by JM Barrie himself and apparently if you scan the plaque with your smartphone, you get a call from Peter Pan. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn that odd fact until after we left – so I can’t tell you what the call is like!
After we left the gardens we made our way to the National Gallery. This time, we paid attention to opening times and didn’t have to kill time with a second breakfast! The National Gallery is much smaller than the British Museum, so we spent probably an hour to hour-and-a-half inside.
After spending way too much time in the religious artwork areas, we made our way to what we were actually interested in: the Impressionists. The museum has a good number of Degas paintings, including this one I hadn’t seen before:
It ended up being one of my favorite viewings. Much more interesting than this horse that always captures everyone’s attention:
I’d really love for someone to share the appeal with me…I’d rather see a live horse – something I’ve gotten to do a lot of since arriving in Leysin, but I’ll save that for a later post.
The museum also had a special exhibit, showcasing Chris Ofili’s Weaving Magic. Ofili works with Dovecot Tapestry Studio to turn his designs into handwoven tapestries. Weaving Magic is breathtaking in size, taking up nearly an entire wall.
Afterward, we spent the rest of the day doing the one thing two people who have spent the last nine months in Accra really need to do: shop. The day was a huge hit for Chandler, stocking up at Uniqlo and Nudie Jeans, while I only managed to find some staple items at H&M.
It wasn’t until the end of the day that Chandler helped me with a major fashion break-through. I’m not in college anymore, therefore: I don’t like cheap clothes : ) With that in mind, my shopping experience on day two went much, much better with some Nudie jeans of my own, as well as a Karen Millen dress, and some yoga gear from Lulu Lemon. And some serious expectations for our upcoming time in Paris!
For lunch we met up with Grace and Cathy for a belated wedding celebration at the Shard. You come for the views, so the food, while good, is limited. The only vegetarian main course was porridge, so I opted for two appetizers and a desert instead!
And, like I said, we stuck around for the views:
We couldn’t have had a better time in London and will absolutely be heading back in the future. It ranks near the top of our favorite cities list with places like Bangkok and Rome (ok, I love Rome, Chandler could take it or leave it). And while we were sad to say goodbye, we had plenty of other great cities waiting, like Paris, Leysin, Zurich, and Rome.
Husband and wifey on the railway! On our way to Paris…
Abroad With Ashley 