Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Crab Dress Goes to London!

I spent last week in London; business for me, but a vacation for my mother, who hadn't visited in fifty years! Of course, the Crab Dress had to go too, and on our first full day there, we headed over to the Victoria & Albert Museum which is my absolutely favorite museum in London: The V&A is dedicated to art and design, which includes fashion. Mother and I enjoyed the wardrobe displays of women's dresses and suits from the 1600s to the present day, as well as the history of the man's suit. I always hit the V&A on every visit to London, and if you go I heartily recommend it. I have never been able to see the entire museum as I always begin with the fashion collection. My next favorite collection is the British furnishings displays from the 1500s to the 1700s. Just let me live there and sleep in the Bed of Ware!
The museum also has an excellent cafe and a paddling pool which the British used because they thought 76 degrees was hot:

We were exceedingly blessed with excellent weather, the better to show off Big Ben:
We went to the British Museum as well, near our hotel:

Is this not the most stunning museum you have ever seen? I was able to see the Rosetta Stone, one of my goals in life, along with an excellent Egyptian collection which included several mummies. As my mother said, "The British really know how to do a museum." And it is all free.
We stayed near the Covent Garden area and went to a restaurant one night that is decorated to look like the theatre itself:
Apparently, the restaurant has live opera singing every Sunday and Monday nights, but fortunately we missed that and just had a quiet meal instead.
No fabric shopping for me all week; I was tempted to go to Liberty's to shop for Liberty fabrics, but I've been there before and I have decided I am just too bourgeois to pay that much money for cotton fabric. (Now silk - silk is a different story!) It was a great trip, and I won't bore you with too many photos, but London is a city you could go to year after year and never see it all. Still, it is good to be home!
Parting Shot: One of the most moving experiences of the trip: a group of the blind were visiting the Battle of Britain Memorial and were feeling the relief sculpture:

4 comments:

gP said...

I am so glad the crab dress made it to London. Sure look forward to hearing some stories.

gwensews said...

Beautiful photos. You must enjoy your job, being able to do all that traveling.

Summerset said...

LOL! I knew it would go! Looks like you had a marvelous time. Yes, the V&A is on my list of "things to do someday".

sewkalico said...

I live near a Liberty printing works - let me know if you ever want some at non-Liberty prices ;-)