A Sunny Saturday at Roadboy's Favorite Design and Craft Museum

London's Splendid Victoria & Albert
Pink Floyd
Harrods 
Dreamgirls

Day 12

We began the day with breakfast at the Chelsea Bun Diner (which was very good).

With my mobility issues now in the picture, we opted for a day at the very accessible Victoria and Albert Museum over a trip to the Tower of London (with its long lines and narrow corridors filled with twisty stairs etc.)

A Sunny Day at the V&A

The decision was a happy one for me as I've always loved the V&A (especially the Theater and Entertainment Galleries and its two masterpiece "Copy" Galleries). And, on a warm sunny Saturday it was an ideal place for family picnics and children walking in its big shallow reflecting pool.

A "Copy" Room

(One of two V&A galleries where copies of original sculptural masterpieces are displayed)

 A Fidelity Dog

(Dogs in sculpture or paintings are frequently there to symbolize fidelity)

 

And, upon arrival, we found out they also have a special Pink Floyd Exhibit. I had been to the V&A's excellent traveling David Bowie exhibit a few years back, so I knew this exhibit would likely be very interesting. It was.

 Pink Floyd's Inflatable Battersea Pig 

In a Poster For Their 1977 "Animals" Tour 

(They visited my hometown - Oakland!)

The Tropical Motel LA

(Just another room in the wall)

1994 Album Cover 

Division Bell by Storm Thorgerson  

The founding members of Pink Floyd met in architecture school (perhaps why the band was so interested in arts, animation and larger-than-life iconic graphics).

I finished my visit with a trip to the Architecture Gallery, and found it clearly getting dated.

The Architect

(Couldn't help but photograph this sculpture in the Architecture and Design Gallery)

Also as I was preparing this post I came to realize I had neglected to include a few pictures from Day 11's visit to Harrods Department Store after the RHS Flower show. Harrods was the famous (formerly chartered) luxury department store that offered "everything from birth to death".

I don't know if they still sell funeral's, but a return to its legendary Food Halls left me stunned at the beauty (and extravagance) of the place.

Harrod's Meat, Seafood and Poultry Food Hall

An Entire Section Devoted to Caviar

Harrods Food Hall Seafood Counter

 The Hall for Coffee, Tea and Chocolate

Good news, Harrods no longer charges 1£ to use their "Luxury Loo's". Yep, in one of my past visits they were charging customers to use their restrooms.

Just outside the store (in a single block on Sloane Street) I observed 3 Rolls Royce's, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari and too many Range Rover's to count parked. Along the same block there were dozens of camera ready paparazzi leaning against storefronts texting. I asked one who they expected and the answer was "whoever shows up".

In that context of mindless rich "Celebrity" Harrods makes sense.

We finished the evening at The Savoy Theater with Dreamgirls. The Savoy (with no elevator and dozens of stairs to every seat) is a complete mobility nightmare.

The show, however, was electric. The crowd jumped to its feet as soon as Amber Riley (formerly of Glee) began belting out her first song.  What a voice.

Roadboy's Travels © 2017