Our last Sunday in London was pretty packed. We went to church at the Hyde Park ward, and then walked down the block to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is full of everything that has anything to do with design.
The building itself is gorgeous ...
... and I love that they've left damage from World War II as a memorial.
The V&A collection is one of those few things that can accurately be described as eclectic. There are objects from all over the world and from throughout history, and what ties them together is the loose idea of "design."
One of the first galleries we went through was the Indian gallery, where we tracked down the famous Tipu's Tiger. It's a crazy automaton made for the Sultan of Mysore, who fought four wars with the East India Company before finally coming under British rule. You can see how he felt about the Europeans ...
I felt a weird connection to the grisly thing because of our recent trip to Mysore, where we learned a little about the sultanate's struggle to remain free of the East India Company.
Another thing I liked about the India gallery was a display of furniture, clothing and jewelry that were made in Britain but inspired by the empire's fascination with India.
In the Islamic Middle East gallery we saw lots of beautiful tiles ...
... the Ardabil Carpet, made in the 1530s ...
... and this cool pitcher carved from one huge piece of quartz.
John and I really wanted to see the Chihuly glass chandelier in the entrance hall ...
... where we also found these cool rocking chairs.
Then it was off to see British fashion through the ages, which (not surprisingly) was Evie's favorite exhibit of the day.
This one got me thinking about Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett ...
... and this one had me wondering whether anyone widened their doorways or just waited around for fashions to change.
We didn't go into the special exhibit on late 20th-century ballgowns, but the kids enjoyed seeing images of the dresses (some of them pretty wacky) projected around the room.
The museum's courtyard has a huge fountain, where you're encouraged to wade, and more fun chairs.
The girls went to see the jewelry exhibit (no photos allowed), passing these huge pillars on the way. This is a view from the third floor, but the pillars' bases are on the ground level.
And the boys explored the medieval and Renaissance rooms, where Johnny was excited to find Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks. We met again at the Raphael Cartoons, before heading back to Baker Street.
I think this was my favorite museum in London, even edging out the incredible British Museum, because of the huge variety of things to see.
Sunday evening, Caroline and I went back to Shakespeare's Globe to watch Henry V as groundlings. The setting was really fun, but the production itself was great, too. I was especially impressed with Jamie Parker, who played Henry. He was real, comfortable and conflicted. I admit to needing a tissue during the St. Crispin's Day speech. (Carrie teared up, too, OK!)
I also loved Brendan O'Hea as the comic Fluellen.
The whole thing was so fun. As groundlings, we stood with the rest of the riff raff in the center of the "wooden O," where we "cried God for Harry, England and St. George" and dodged stage weaponry during the battle scenes. It was awesome, though my feet were killing me by the time we got home.
If you're ever in London, you shouldn't miss being a groundling at the Globe. (They also have seating, for noblemen and pansies.)
The building itself is gorgeous ...
... and I love that they've left damage from World War II as a memorial.
The V&A collection is one of those few things that can accurately be described as eclectic. There are objects from all over the world and from throughout history, and what ties them together is the loose idea of "design."
One of the first galleries we went through was the Indian gallery, where we tracked down the famous Tipu's Tiger. It's a crazy automaton made for the Sultan of Mysore, who fought four wars with the East India Company before finally coming under British rule. You can see how he felt about the Europeans ...
I felt a weird connection to the grisly thing because of our recent trip to Mysore, where we learned a little about the sultanate's struggle to remain free of the East India Company.
Another thing I liked about the India gallery was a display of furniture, clothing and jewelry that were made in Britain but inspired by the empire's fascination with India.
In the Islamic Middle East gallery we saw lots of beautiful tiles ...
... the Ardabil Carpet, made in the 1530s ...
... and this cool pitcher carved from one huge piece of quartz.
John and I really wanted to see the Chihuly glass chandelier in the entrance hall ...
... where we also found these cool rocking chairs.
Then it was off to see British fashion through the ages, which (not surprisingly) was Evie's favorite exhibit of the day.
This one got me thinking about Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennett ...
... and this one had me wondering whether anyone widened their doorways or just waited around for fashions to change.
We didn't go into the special exhibit on late 20th-century ballgowns, but the kids enjoyed seeing images of the dresses (some of them pretty wacky) projected around the room.
The museum's courtyard has a huge fountain, where you're encouraged to wade, and more fun chairs.
The girls went to see the jewelry exhibit (no photos allowed), passing these huge pillars on the way. This is a view from the third floor, but the pillars' bases are on the ground level.
And the boys explored the medieval and Renaissance rooms, where Johnny was excited to find Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks. We met again at the Raphael Cartoons, before heading back to Baker Street.
I think this was my favorite museum in London, even edging out the incredible British Museum, because of the huge variety of things to see.
Sunday evening, Caroline and I went back to Shakespeare's Globe to watch Henry V as groundlings. The setting was really fun, but the production itself was great, too. I was especially impressed with Jamie Parker, who played Henry. He was real, comfortable and conflicted. I admit to needing a tissue during the St. Crispin's Day speech. (Carrie teared up, too, OK!)
I also loved Brendan O'Hea as the comic Fluellen.
The whole thing was so fun. As groundlings, we stood with the rest of the riff raff in the center of the "wooden O," where we "cried God for Harry, England and St. George" and dodged stage weaponry during the battle scenes. It was awesome, though my feet were killing me by the time we got home.
If you're ever in London, you shouldn't miss being a groundling at the Globe. (They also have seating, for noblemen and pansies.)
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