52/365 - London baby YEAH!

My “official” birthday treat, was just the most AWESOME day out in London organised by my wonderful BF (boyfriend!) Starting with lunch and a cheeky glass of wine at Auberge in Waterloo, then a walk across Westminster bridge to the Churchill War Rooms – what an amazing place, I can’t believe I have waited this long to go, its No.2  on Trip Advisor of best things to do in London (Imperial War Museum is No. 1 and I have never been there either.) I think it’s the best museum I have ever been too (closely followed by the Settlement Exhibition in Reykjavik) Then a walk to Trafalgar square where “Holland House has brought a taste of Holland to the UK and is a free entry festival on London’s most famous square where the Dutch gather to celebrate Holland’s national day known as “Queensday” Which consisted of live bands, lots of Dutch people wearing orange and drinking lots of beer! We skirted that and then went for much needed tea and chilling in the St Martins Church Café, which is in the crypt of the church and is so cool! And the BF found out another crazy little known BAC (BlondeAriesChick) fact - i love brass rubbing!

Then onto the National Portrait Gallery to check out “An Englishman in New York: Photographs by Jason Bell” which I liked but is it arrogant and possibly (probably) misguided of me to say I think I could do better myself? I liked the way he had shot his subjects in their natural surroundings, whether at their workplace or on the New York Streets, and each photograph was accompanied by a mini paragraph of interview which set the scene and provided some depth. But i thought they lacked the “capturing of the moment” which is the whole point of photography to me, and in the case of portraits means capturing the real essence or soul of the person. Which reminds me of one of my favourite photographers Henri Cartier Bresson who was a founder of the famous Magnum photographic agency, who said: “To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life." Taken from his book “The Decisive Moment” - "Photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression. Through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us, which can mold us, by which can also be affected by us. Photographers work in unison with movement as though it were a presentiment of the way in which life itself unfolds. But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it"

But I digress, back to my day in London! After the exhibition we headed to Silk, A Michelin-recommended restaurant is in the Courthouse Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Oxford Street “Lit by a stunning vaulted glass ceiling and framed in English Oak panelling, the restaurant features the original judge's bench, dock and witness stand from its days as the Great Marlborough Street Magistrates Court, which witnessed the trials of Oscar Wilde, Mick Jagger and John Lennon. Now a destination for more culinary pursuits, the restaurants' past has been superbly incorporated to create a charming, romantic dining venue.” Which it has! The food was just STUNNING, a mix of Silk Route inspired Asian fusion dishes, I had scallops, fillet of beef and finished with chocolate mousse, with rose / chilli jelly and a champagne cocktail. YUM!

We then walked back across the river in the last light of the day, my camera had been with me and "working" all day, but I took the most photos here, as dusk made the river become inky blue and all the lights came on, in fact the picture for tomorrow may well be a cheat and another one from today’s trip, since I took SO many! Today’s picture is the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben in silhouette, I like the fact its such a common London scene and yet kind of hidden by taking out all the detail and focusing on the sky.

That was my longest EVER post, props to those who stayed with it!! J