Photography project – Haymarket Hotel

You may have seen my last post Boogie bounce with My PFF app where I attended an event at the Haymarket Hotel. In between bouncing around on trampolines, eating delicious food and talking about light bladder weakness, I managed to pop out and take some photos of the swanky interior at the hotel.

I loved the mix of traditional sculptures and ornamental vases with more modern pieces and quirky décor, particularly the fish wallpaper in the toilet! I did have a look around one of the bedrooms but I didn’t have my camera with me at the time so you will have to take my word for how luscious it was.

I really liked the way each part of the hotel had a different style and there were so many little cosy nooks where I could imagine curling up with a good book, even this chair in the toilet looks inviting! Maybe one day I will get to try out an overnight stay!

Photography project – The Red Edition

Looking back at some of the photos I have taken around London and red seems to be the colour that stands out. Along with the telephone box and the post box, the red bus has become an iconic recognised symbol of the city.

I thought I would share some of my favourite photos featuring red that I have taken in the past couple of years.

What colour have you noticed around your city?

 

Courtauld gallery @ Somerset house

The Courtauld gallery is situated at the entrance to Somerset house and I have actually walked past it a couple of times without realising the masterpieces that hang within it.

The collection of paintings range from early renaissance into the twentieth century and features legendary artists such as Van Gogh, Monet and Gauguin.

The collection is spread over four floors which is accessed via the winding staircase and they all have a description of the piece placed next to them with the artists name and information about the piece.

The displays are not just placed on the walls and some of the rooms are incredibly ornate and a work of art in themselves. It is not just paintings featured in the gallery, there are also prints, drawings, sculptures and decorative arts.

My favourite pieces were the bronze ballet dancers by Degas accompanied by his painting entitled Two dancers on a stage.

I found the Courtauld to be a real hidden treasure that is a lot more compact than some of London’s more well known galleries, although it does have an entrance fee but this means there are less visitors so there is more space to take in the artwork. I managed to get in free with my student ID and there are other concessions. Under 18s are free although I don’t think it would be too popular with young kids! Check out their website for more up to date information.

 

Imperial war museum

The Imperial war museum in London has been housed in the previous Bethlem hospital since 1936 but has in recent years undergone a £40 million revamp. The museum records the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of Britain and its Empire since 1914 and has some spectacular displays on show.

As you enter the museum you are faced with the wide open atrium filled with all sorts of vehicles and aircraft hanging from the ceiling and over the sides of different levels.

The museum is divided into different sections across four floors and it is suggested that it takes half a day to work your way around all the galleries.

I really wanted to see the holocaust exhibition and was really blown away by the size and vast amount of information in the one section, it is like a museum in itself! Unfortunately you can not take photos in this particular exhibition but it is filled with photos, personal stories, posters, models, film and so much more. Children under the age of 14 are not allowed in but this is understandable with the sensitive nature of the subject.

Another part of the museum I perused was the first world war section. It was a lot busier downstairs so was hard to take in a lot but still contained lots of eye catching displays and interesting facts.

I spend a lot of time in Elephant and Castle as I attend university there so found this painting really interesting.

If you are a history buff or student learning about the wars then this is a great hangout and it is also set in beautiful grounds with interesting architecture which complement an autumn stroll perfectly.

Photography project – Albert embankment

Albert Embankment lies at the side of the river Thames and stretches from Vauxhall bridge to Westminster bridge. As it doesn’t have all the attractions that Southbank on the opposite side of Westminster has, it is a lot quieter which makes for a rather peaceful stroll.

I thought I would take a few photos on my walk…

There are so many lovely views along the river, I don’t think I could ever get bored of them.

Where is your favourite place to take a wander?

Photography project – Kensington Palace

I recently attended Kensington palace to photograph some beautiful florals at an event that was taking place there. While waiting for the displays to be set up I thought I would take a look around and photograph the amazingly ornate rooms as I have never visited the palace before.

The rooms were really spectacular and I heard the gardens are just as beautiful but I didn’t have time or energy to go looking around after spending hours photographing so I hope to go back and have a look around the outside on another day.

Have you ever visited any of the royal palaces?

An afternoon at Kew

Kew gardens, also known as the Royal botanic gardens, is set in 300 acres of land in the London borough of Richmond and is home to the largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world.

I had last visited Kew gardens 10 years ago with my eldest son on a school trip and had vague memories of sweating in a giant green house. This experience was pretty much the same only I just had the responsibility of supervising one 12 year old (The youngest son who reluctantly joined me) and we were free to roam wherever we liked.

Armed with the map of the gardens it reminded me of a theme park for nature lovers as opposed to thrill seekers, I’ve definitely become more of the latter over the years! The park has different attractions dotted around and because we arrived quite late in the day we headed towards the right to see how much we could fit in.

Palm house

The palm house is a Victorian glasshouse and is home to some unique palms and tropical plants from the warmer climates of Africa and America. It is very warm as you walk in but if you venture up the spiral staircase you have to start removing items of clothing and wiping the steamed up lens of the camera as it is so hot!

We left at the rear exit of the palm house to sit and admire the rose gardens while we cooled off for a bit before heading towards the Hive via the broad walk.

The broad walk

The great broad walk is a stretch of 320 metre pathway with double herbaceous borders described as an ornamental promenade.

It is so much nicer walking from one attraction to another when there are pretty things to look at on the way!

The Hive

One of the things I was mostly looking forward to seeing at Kew was The Hive. Described as an immersive sound and visual experience, it was designed to give humans an insight into what it is like for a honeybee inside the hive. As it was a sunny summers day with lots of visitors the hive was definitely buzzing and although there isn’t anything to do inside it I did really like the experience.

Princess of Wales conservatory

Described as one of the most complex glasshouses, this conservatory contains ten different environments and houses all sorts of exotic plants. The conservatory commemorates Princess Augusta, who founded the Gardens and it was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales, in July 1987.

 

Davis Alpine house

This innovative, award winning structure is home to the alpine plants. The design enables it to create the cool, dry and windy conditions that alpine plants favour and this glasshouse is surrounded by beautiful scenery of rock gardens and waterfalls.

There were so many more places within the gardens that we didn’t get to explore including the creepers and climbers and the treetop walkway, I suppose this means we will have to take another visit again soon!

When I asked my children if they wanted to join me on a trip to Kew gardens they all refused, my daughter even decided that she would rather revise for her GCSE’s (which are not until next year May) than come with me. My 12 year old wasn’t very enthusiastic about the trip but came anyway and upon leaving the gardens he declared that when he is older he is going to buy me a house in Kew and get a membership card so we can visit everyday… I think that is a result!

Geffrye museum – Shoreditch

The Geffrye museum, situated on Kingsland road in East London, explores the home and home life from 1600 to the present day. It reminds me of a historic Ikea only you cant enter the rooms an try out the furniture.

The museum is set in beautiful 18th-century Grade I-listed almshouses of the Ironmongers’ Company and is surrounded by a lush green at the front and period and herb gardens to the rear.

The outside space

We started our tour by entering around the side to see the herb garden which is only open to the public between April and October.

As well as being full of fragrant green herbs such as sage and rosemary there is also spots of colour to brighten it up.

Can you spot the miserable 12 and 15 year olds who are not amused at being taken to explore a herb garden? Luckily they were a bit more enthusiastic about the inside exhibitions of the museum!

Inside the exhibition

The exhibition itself is full of period rooms set up like they would be in different eras. As well as just having the rooms there are also cabinets full of historic memorabilia, paintings, books that you can browse and interactive activities.

If you have smaller children then they can follow a trail answering questions such as how many windows are there in an Edwardian drawing room? Obviously my children were too mature (I wont mention that they bickered with each other throughout the whole trip) for such an activity!

As you reach the end of the first exhibition which is all about historical homes you are greeted with a bright open space that houses the shop and café.

This then leads onto the modern part of the exhibition which shows homes from the 20th century, it also has a downstairs area where you can answer questions such as ‘how do you feel about housework?’ and stick the answers on the wall. I think this area is mainly used for education purposes.

It is a shame that the first part of the exhibition isn’t as spacious as the second part but I suppose as a listed building they are limited to what they can do with it. I also found it strange that there wasn’t an exit at the end and you had to make your way back to the start to get out.

My primary school is not far from the Geffrey museum and I remember visiting it on school trips as a child. It was lovely to go back 30 years later with my own children and see how it has developed and I can say it is still as interesting as it was back then!

Have you ever visited the Geffrye museum?

 

Photography project – The garden edition

I have come across quite a few garden blog posts recently and they all seem to be full of bountiful blooms, immaculate lawns and ornate décor. Then I look out of my window and just see a mess of overgrown bushes, withered flowers and a dilapidated shed.

A few years ago I decided to give my shed a makeover, I painted it in a pretty off white shade and hung bunting around the top but I have since filled the shed with everything I don’t need from the house so it has become a bit of a dumping ground. My neighbours then put in a new fence and all the greenery on top of the shed died revealing a hole in the top and a load of dead roots.

My plan is to hire a skip and get rid of the lot! I would also like to cut down the bushes and start over with a blank canvas but in the meantime I have challenged myself to photograph the garden focusing on details and textures. It is quite a small space so I wasn’t expecting to find a lot but it’s amazing just how much detail there is in a garden environment.

One thing I have noticed recently is the abundance of berries that have started growing, although I have no idea where they came from, this is an addition to the garden that I really like and would love to grow more fruit.

I often look for places I can visit to photograph but actually there is so much to see on my own (back) doorstep that I should pay more attention too!

Have you found anything interesting to photograph lately?

Paris – exploring La Defense

I imagine Paris is a city similar to London in the sense that it has well known sights and attractions, particularly in the centre, but also has lesser known areas that are also filled with interesting things to see.

As soon as we stepped off the metro at La Defense our first thought was that it must be the Canary wharf of Paris. After a bit of research we found out that it was in fact the biggest business district in the whole of Europe with 3.5 million square metres of office space!

Situated west of the city, La Defense is part of the Paris metropolitan area and has so much more to see than just skyscrapers.

The district is named after the statue La Defense de Paris which commemorates the Parisian resistance during the Franco-Prussian war. It stands pride of place in the middle of the area and it is not the only artistic structure you will see. Dotted around are a total of 60 modern art structures and monuments.

I really liked the contrast of the colourful, fun looking artistic structures with the backdrop of the rigid office blocks. One of the newest buildings in the area is the Grande arch which was a project that was supported by the French president Mitterrand who wanted a twentieth century version of the Arch de Triomphe. The nice thing about it is if you face directly opposite the Grande arch you can see the Arch de Triomphe directly in front of you, albeit quite far in the distance.

Either side of the Grande arch are two large shopping malls which house every shop you could think of which probably helps to bring a lot of Parisians as well as tourists to the area.

I was quite surprised that although it is a business district there is still lots of greenery around the area. As we were there at the weekend it was fairly empty but I can imagine it thriving with people during the working week.

If I had known it was the business district before travelling to La Defense I probably would have been put off staying in the area but there was so much to see that I’m glad I didn’t look it up before our trip.

I am not really familiar with the different districts of Paris but would love to visit and explore other areas. Have you visited Paris? Where did you stay?