The Great London Walk-About: Reminders of Home

ahhh nothing ever feels like home. i was talking to my sister the other day and she said something that to me is an absolute truth. you can take the girl out of her home where she feels "safe, secure and accepted" but you can never take that kind of home out of the girl. she said that she can see this truth in my words when i write. she said she can feel this truth in between my words when we chat. that really made me feel happy and of course made me miss home more.

so, every chance i get, wherever i go, i always try to visit something that reminds me so much of where i am from. after a friend suggested i visit something Filipino in the middle of London, i ventured into the great unknown to find this store and luckily, they weren't that far from the tube station. needless to say, i bought a LOT of stuff!

not only did i shop, but it didn't take a lot for me to convince the mister that we try out this retaurant!

i tried out the buffet after i saw my beloved humba in the selection :) included were fried fish, pinakbet, the ever-present pancit, sinigang and others

the mister ordered calamares and camaron rebosado along with his egg-fried rice. he is not too keen on Filipino food but there are a few things that he likes such as Lucky Me Pancit Canton, Skyflakes crackers, turon, leche flan, my dad's beef steak, succulent mangoes, and others that are yet to be discovered and devoured!

imagine to my surprise when i saw an exhibit about the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in the Natural History Museum in London! it was a bit of a depressing memory really, but still, it was something from my past :) i was in my sophomore year in uni and was living in an all-girl dormitory and had a friend who was studying geology at that time and during the eruption she actually went there along with some experts from the US Geological Society and brought us all a piece of "lahar" as a souvenir...

i remember the roads and the "ikot" jeepneys (jeepneys that ply only inside the huge UP campus in Diliman) were all covered in white ash. the days were dim-lit and we joked that it must be a miracle and that finally it was snowing in the Philippines

i remember bringing an umbrella to my classes during the day because there was a steady drizzle of white ash (Mt Pinatubo was about 55 miles or 90 kms northwest of Manila) and everything was covered in white ash. we were advised to board up our windows because the ash was harmful if breathed in (could cause illness in our respiratory systems). sometimes classes were suspended and that was when our dormitory usually came to life...

aahhh, these little snippets of home put joy into my heart that lasts a long, long time :)

The Great London Walk-About: The Science Museum

the Science Museum is just a 5-minute walk from our hotel, just right next to the Natural History Museum and the V&A. it is an off-shoot from the V&A and devoted solely to Space, Medicine, Mathematics, Atmosphere, etc.

below is the mister with the United States Scout, an American rocket

this is a simulated "man-on-the-moon"

they also have exhibits on proofs regarding climate change. this is very informative btw

an exhibit on everyday things and their history and why we can't live without them

i especially like the Who Am I? exhibit where i learn more about why i am unique and common at the same time :) these panels are so enriching :)

i miss my family

ain't that right?

alas! my surname "ROMANO" does not exist in Great Britain (of course, because it is a Filipino surname which oddly enough, is also Italian)

the Cockroach Tour :)

the future of gaming :)

The Great London Walk-About: The National Gallery

on our last day, surprisingly enough, it was a beautiful day. coolish but when you're under the sun, its warm and there is actually sunshine. we decided to pay a visit to the Queen. So, off we went to Buckingham Palace with the Victoria Monument in the foreground

there were a lot of people there since it was Remembrance Sunday and she was expected to lay a wreath in The Cenotaph to pay tribute to the fallen heroes

Green Park beside the Palace was magical with a carpet of fall colors

we decided to follow the crowd and see where they lead us. well, unexpectedly, we found the National Gallery where they had a special exhibit of Leonardo da Vinci's newly-discovered painting, the Salvador Mundi

the Gallery faces Trafalgar Square where Nelson's Column dominates it with his "towering" presence

a guy cleaning up the drains of the big fountain where people throw coins (but there weren't a lot of coins when we looked)

a plinth showing a galleon inside a bottle (this is part of an on-going exhibit and changes constantly depending on what the Gallery is exhibiting)

the mister loves the old masters, this is just one of the hundreds of paintings inside the Gallery

"The Waterlily Pond" by Monet

at last its time for lunch!

with this, we bid adieu to London, which strangely enough, i feel at home in.

The Great London Walk-About: The Tate Modern

modern art is sometimes a bit misunderstood especially since the masters did such a good job in their own genre and era. but personally, i still think art, like people, is evolving and modern art is a reflection of the times. so while walking along the River Thames, we went in to Tate Modern to see what modern art is all about. by this time we were exhausted and just can't wait to go back to our hotel.

the mister doesn't like modern art but he tried to soak them in as he doesn't have a choice. i like modern art and have since learned to appreciate it. here he is about to enter the first gallery looking a little too nonplussed.

i remember Paul Klee because i once had a German penfriend who sent me a calendar of his paintings. they were very colorful and amusing.

i was first introduced to surrealism in college when Gabriel Garcia Marquez's books were required reading, so i like a little bit of a challenge in my art so to speak. this one is Lightning with Stag Caught in Its Glare by Joseph Beuys, 2009

Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, Pablo Picasso, 1932

he's trying to read and understand the inscriptions; Mediterranee by Ellsworth Kelly, 1952

The Fig Leaf, La Feuille de Vigne, 1922

Untitled, by Jannis Kounellis, 1979

The Great London Walk-About: The Victoria and Albert Museum

One of the must-see museums in London is the Victoria and Albert Museum, "the world's greatest museum of art and design" housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects from ancient times to the present day in virtually all medium in all parts of the world. in short, its 8 acres of all my favorite things! from diamond rings to wrought iron railing design to Alexander McQueen's armadillo heels made famous by Lady Gaga to Islamic tapestries to Japanese samurai suits.. the list is endless!

despite day two of my blistered toes, i simply just have to ignore them! in each room that i went through was a treasure trove of an extensive hold of more inspiration in sculpture, plastercasts, jewelry, metalwork, mosaics, photographs, furniture, etc.

in the main entrance is a 30-foot glass sculpture by glass artist Dale Chihuly (at first, i thought this was made entirely of sculptured balloons!)

another sculpture amidst preserved columns in every period in history

a plastercast of the Trajan's column taken from the original 1st century AD monument

one of the thousands of mouldings and casts inside the museum

a Japanese suit of armour

a Medieval wooden staircase taken from an actual Medieval house!

ahhhhh learn something new everyday :)

a stolen bokeh shot taken inside the Jewelry Exhibit

true! i love this write-up :) exactly what i have in mind

The Power of Making is an on-going exhibition that celebrates the best of human imagination and creativity in craft; Manel Torres, while studying in the Royal College of Art, developed the Fabrican, a spray-on dress

here's the mister beside the King Silver Gorilla by David Mach, made entirely of wire coat hangers. a day is just isn't enough!

The Great London Walk-About: The Natural History Museum

i've heard so much talk about London being such a bleak city. well, bleak is such a one-sided word. i prefer, "sepia-toned" because there is a nice artsy ring to it. which is true, really. i find London very diverse and if you look closely and pay special attention to the things people often take for granted, you will be amazed. strangely enough, i feel at home there. in the middle of hurrying after the train, fast cars, ignoring each other's business, not hearing English from the people around you, seeing tourists with their cameras clicking, i find that affirming and i felt relieved again that indeed the world is moving so fast and really, i dont have time to worry about what other people think. i miss that kind of outlook.

that was my first impression of London and as the days pass by while we were there, it became stronger and stronger :)

the museum of natural history was just a 2-minute walk from our hotel, so with the air cool and crisp, we decided to hit that first. it is a massive imposing romanesque building rich in history.

naturally, we were there the moment the doors opened. and when we walked past the doors, the huge Diplodocus skeleton welcomes everyone with a toothy grin.

"home to more than 70 million wonderful specimens from the natural world", i felt so insignificant while i walked through its halls and viewed the many amazing exhibits

chris with the life-sized animatronic T-rex complete with roars

these are not stuffed animals by the way, these are custom-made to show their actual size. this room also showcased the humongous blue whale, the largest animal in the world

and looking down the central hall is a marble statue of the father of evolution himself, Mr. Charles Darwin

a plesiosaur fossil found in the early 1800's by Mary Anning, the Fossil Finder

in the Earth Hall, a soaring and dramatic giant globe impressed us as well as its treasury gallery

etched on its walls are the names of planets and its depiction of the stars

by this time, my poor feet were sooo tired that i needed to sit down and have a little snack :)

these small children are trying to draw dinosaurs under the supervision of their teacher

after about almost 3 hours of non-stop walking, we feel that we still haven't covered everything that we need to see. the best thing about it is that its always something to look forward to. and also, the very bestest thing about the museums in london is that its FREE!