I had three objectives during this trip. One was to see The Arnolfini Portrait at The National Gallery, the second was to watch Hamlet at The National Theatre, and the third was to shop.
When I arrived Tuesday afternoon and had dropped my luggage off, I caught the tube towards Oxford Street to do some shopping. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I did pick up a lovely cream cardigan, a black midi skirt, and a brown studded handbag from Primark. I also dipped into Selfridges to buy a bottle of Pitta growth serum by Chāmpo to try. I have thinning hair at my temples and this stuff is supposed to be magic. I guess we'll find out!
After spending a few hours around the Oxford Street area, I picked up some food from an M&S Foodhall and headed back to my hotel.
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On Wednesday morning I decided to nip to the Space NK near Oxford Circus before my allotted time at The National Gallery. I recently bought the 15ml Honey Infused Hair Perfume by Gisou in Lavender Berry and decided to upgrade to the 50ml because I love it so much. I also thought I'd try the Complete Air Dry Cream by JVN, and then I stumbled upon Space NK's own brand of bath and body care and picked up the Caribbean Shores Hair and Body Mist which smells exactly like a beach holiday. I practically showered myself in it every day of my trip.
Afterwards I jumped on the Bakerloo line to Charing Cross to visit The National Gallery.
First port of call was, of course, The Arnolfini Portrait.
There it is in all its glory. It felt very monumental to be there looking at a painting I've only ever seen on the internet and in books. It had, as suspected, gathered quite a crowd, so I didn't get the best photos of it, but I did stand there for a moment to absorb it.
I would've loved to have gotten a closer look, but I must've picked the busiest time to visit and there were just too many folks around. I'll definitely be visiting again in the future, perhaps I'll go on a Friday evening when the gallery opens later.
Some other paintings I saw and loved include...
Clockwise from top left: Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1609 ・ The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533 ・ Self Portrait in a Straw Hat by Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1782 ・ Self Portrait at the Age of 34 by Rembrandt, 1640 ・ The Toilet of Venus ('The Rokeby Venus') by Diego Velázquez, 1647-51 ・ Cognoscenti in a Room hung with Pictures by an unknown Flemish artist, c. 1620.
Other paintings on my list of must-sees included Paul Cezanne's Curtain, Jug and Dish of Fruit (I adore his still lifes), Diego Velázquez's The Toilet of Venus (obsessed with weird reflections in paintings if you couldn't tell already), and Edouard Manet's At the Café and Corner of a Café-Concert (both paintings were once part of a larger canvas and ultimately cut in two and reworked by Manet. They've only recently been reunited).
Of course I visited the gift shop. I picked up some postcards of my favourite paintings and a couple of magnets as is customary.
After exploring the gallery, I wandered east towards Covent Garden taking a detour through Cecil Court, a beautiful little street lined with Victorian shop fronts. It was nicknamed Flicker Alley from the concentration of early film companies that occupied the street around 1897 to 1915, and is sometimes referred to as Booksellers' Row as it is now home to around a dozen antiquarian and second-hand independent bookshops, including specialists in modern first editions, collectible children's books, early printing, rare maps and atlases, antique prints, music, and esoterica.
After a roam around Covent Garden and Leicester Square I jumped on the tube to Goodge Street and headed to one of my favourite places - the Waterstones on Gower Street. In the basement there's a second-hand books section, Gower Records, a Ryman, and an art supplies shop. It's a dream. I didn't find anything this time in the second-hand section, but I did buy Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion and A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf upstairs. Waterstones and the whole Bloomsbury area was teeming with students as I think it was Fresher's Week, so I got out of there quick.
I eventually called it a day and returned to the hotel.
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Thursday I thought I'd start the day with a walk through Hyde Park.
I took my film camera, put on my headphones, and ambled through the park. The sun was really hot but the wind had a slight chill to it; it was a perfect example of a summer-autumn day. I'd spent most of my trip so far in the busiest areas of London and I was already feeling a little overwhelmed, so I really needed to spend some time in nature. I just wanted to walk slowly and not feel rushed.
Once I reached Kensington High Street, I had lunch at Whole Foods, a quick iced chocolate at Knoops, then did a little more shopping. I bought the cutest off white fleece-lined cardigan from Uniqlo (straight up sheep vibes).
At around 3pm I headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and a nap. I was seeing Hamlet at The National Theatre for its first preview, and I always like to get in a nap before a long night.
The Southbank Centre's gorgeous, brutalist angles.
I thought I'd head out a little earlier than planned so I could meander along the Southbank at sunset. I watched the skaters at the Undercroft Skate Space, admired the view across the river, and caught the tail end of the Southbank Book Market. I found a really cool book for £6.50 - a 1966 Penguin 1st edition of London Journal 1762-1763 by James Boswell with the coolest cover ever.
The wind picked up so I headed inside the theatre to check out their bookshop/gift shop. Oh, I thought I'd entered heaven. Books and playtexts galore, Shakespeare-themed everything, pins, patches, prints, stationery, clothing, even a concrete model of the theatre itself(!). I bought the Till the Stars Come Down playtext (an excellent play available to watch on NT at Home) and Playwriting: A Backstage Guide by Dan Rebellato, plus a couple of pins and a programme.
Hamlet was spellbinding. The set design was sensational, and for me, Hiran Abeysekera as Hamlet, Francesca Mills as Ophelia, Tom Glenister as Laertes, and Geoffrey Streatfeild as Polonius were the stand-out performances. Absolutely mesmerising to watch, and hilarious where it mattered. I feel privileged to have seen the first preview, it feels like you're in a secret club just for one night.
It took me 40 minutes to get back to my hotel room (I got on the wrong tube line, then Lancaster Gate was unexpectedly closed) but once my head hit the pillow I was gone.
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Friday morning I finished packing then checked-out at around 10:30am. I hailed a taxi to Kings Cross station and settled down on a seat with the latest issue of the Literary Review and some hoisin duck sushi. The train was on time (very rare), and I was soon speeding back home through the English countryside.
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