Sunday 25 May 2014

Go Right at Buckingham Palace...


It was a beautiful day in London today for Bank Holiday Sunday (though tomorrow's forecast is not so ideal... Never mind!). In an appropriately leisurely fashion, I therefore took the time to smell the roses in Hyde Park. To get there, I hopped on my trusty bicycle. As I was looking up my route from Islington before I headed off, I was saying the instructions out loud to help them stick in my head. And as I did so, I was struck how much it sounded like something from a children's book about London...

"Along the Strand and through Trafalgar Square...



... up The Mall (through Admiralty Arch)...


... then right at Buckingham Palace..."


I love how a commute through London can be so iconic and take in such sites and more without even trying!

Although it was a perfect day to be outside, I spent a few hours in the V&A before getting to Hyde Park. It's been quite some time since I was last there and I've been looking for an opportunity to get there for the past few weeks. It didn't seem like a waste to be inside a museum, especially after my lovely cycle (it's so much more relaxed cycling on a weekend then during weekday rush hour!).

Some of the contemporary display in the silver gallery at the V&A

But after a couple of hours, the sunshine was calling me, so I headed back out and to Hyde Park. I was enticed into the rose gardens there, where I stopped to stroll, admire and inhale... and to take some pictures.







Pink roses for my pink outfit!


Hope that you've all had a lovely weekend, and that those in the UK who get a bonus day off tomorrow have a good one.

10 comments:

  1. Sounds like a perfect day, you look lovely amongst all the flowers! xx

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    1. It was a perfect day, rather! And thanks very much - it was lovely to be amongst all the flowers!

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  2. I always love your shots about the city, so beautiful! And my goodness, the gardens are so spectacular, what a beautiful time of year. Your outfit is adorable, polka dots are always a hit with me and I love the detail on the collar of your blouse, so feminine!

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    1. Thank you - I'm glad you enjoy my photos so much. And thanks for your comment on my outfit - it's the first time I've mixed that skirt and blouse (and the beads) but I always like to try out new things when I go to the V&A as it feels appropriate to be experimenting with clothes when going to a design museum!

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  3. Lovely post, Miss Marie. Perfect final photo of Rotten Row (oh please, why that name? I thought the plaque was going to tell me!) with your bike (pretty close to a horse, these days). Pretty photos of you and the garden. Great perspective on Marble Arch and combination of Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery WITH a double decker bus : ) You know, I started to try finding what childhood rhyme or story you were referring to! My mind began "They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace…" I definitely think you need to write a rhyme or story using these directions. Please?!

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    1. Ha ha! I had the same expectation when I saw the Rotten Row sign but I had to go home and look it up - apparently it's a corruption of Route du Roi, or King's Road. And your comment on the bike being the equivalent of a horse reminds me of a time when I was in a group of four people - two males, two females - going somewhere. The chaps had their bikes so they rode, while the other lady and I caught a cab - I commented that it was like the men on their trusty steeds and the women in the carriage! And to be honest, it doesn't take much waiting around to get a red bus going past the National Gallery... but it may take more time for me to write a rhyme!

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  4. Ooh! Is that a fairy above you in the first photo of you in the garden? I won't say Tinkerbell because I'm not sure about her. But do please tell me it was a faerie, one of the wee folk!

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    1. I thought it was just a sparkle and shimmer of sunshine, but perhaps it was a faerie after all?

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  5. My dear, you are such a beautiful woman. I think you have the kind of smile that dwarfs the sun's wattage. What a fun, sweet, stylish polka dot skirt. I love the elegance that is added to those famous wee dots when pleats enter the equation, as they do with your skirt. What a glorious garden and setting for a photo shoot. The lengthy winter here has meant that, unlike usual, our roses haven't bloomed here yet. It's wonderful to see them out in full force on your end already.

    I enjoyed your comment on yesterday's post, very much, thank you. It is a serious shame that a company so rooted in the past doesn't cut their ladies suits accordingly. Knowing the high prices they fetched, I've never looked into buying one myself and doubt I will now, as I certainly need one tailored for all of my womanly curves. I much prefer your idea of purchasing some fabric and having a bespoke one made to measure. Perhaps for my 40th as well (great idea, BTW).

    ♥ Jessica

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  6. Thanks for your truly lovely comment. And I think you put your finger on it with the polka dots and pleats combining to make a great mix of fun and elegance - I hadn't picked that up myself but you're absolutely right. And I hope your roses arrive in full force soon there x

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