Monday, April 23, 2012

Not Bad, London

Yeah, not bad at all.  After the difficulties we faced with the Tube on our last trip, we were happy to learn that there were lifts in certain stations, namely Waterloo and GreenPark (which could get us to Oxford St. with a bit of walking).  

Day 1
There was a "Lift to the Subway" right at the entrance of Waterloo station, which we took but did not lead to the subway.  So we went back up and hunted around for the correct lift.  We had to go right round the corner for the entrance for the disabled. Ok, then how do we get to the train?  Hunted around and found the lift.  Took it down one level, got out but still no train.  Walked around and found a different lift to go up to the train platform.  Got on the train, arrived at GreenPark.  Ok, how to get out of the station?  First take a lift up one level.  Get out, walk to the other train line, take another lift up 2 levels.  Get out, hunt around for yet another lift to go up to street level.  There was actually a diagram in the lift showing how we had to take all these different lifts.

I decided that I shan't complain about the MRT in Singapore anymore.  And we abandoned the Tube for the rest of our trip.

Tired and hungry after our lift adventure.
Stroller-hair.

 
Along our 40-minutes walk back to the hotel, we caught the blue Eye against a dramatic orange sky.

And an alley of neon blue cherry blossoms.

Day 2
Breakfast.

A little jig after breakfast.

He couldn't get enough of this.  Thankfully he could only reach one button.


Day 3 - Lucas and I found our way on Bus 159 to Oxford Circus :)

Day 4 - The RV1 got Luc and me to the Tate Modern.  Straight to lunch at the cafe where he proceeded to steal my fries.  And made a mess of the pasta dish.  That explains why we are seated way in the corner by the WC.














This was all I got.  Didn't even see the diamond skull as the queue was too long.  It was the only exhibit that was FOC.

The guide told me that Hirst paid exhibition was rubbish.  I should have listened to him.  But I didn't.  I wanted to see the shark, you see, so I paid 15 pounds to get in.  Lucas was very fascinated by the flies around the dead cow's head.  I was repulsed.  Then I saw the medicine cabinets.  I want my 15 pounds back, Hirst.

  
This Mexican artist collects glass shards from crime scenes in Mexico and incorporates them into jewellery that the gangs would usually wear.  Each piece was accompanied by a write-up of the murder that took place.

Both are equally blur, I assure you.

 
Looks to me like somebody forgot to clean up after their dog.  I don't get modern art, do you?

 And she didn't have anything to wear.

Somebody was happy at the play area.

Lucas and the hanging staircase.

Day 5 - More shopping on Oxford Street for me and the little man.  We like the buses, even with the road diversions.

Day 6 - Luc and I braved the rain, hopped on Bus 453 and got ourselves to Piccadilly Circus.  Stroller and umbrella in my hand(s), we found ourselves at bus stop S amidst a long queue of people.  I asked a well-dressed gentleman what he was queueing for.  He answered a bit sheepishly that he was waiting to get Olivia Newton John's autograph on her new book. It was 11.30am and she was arriving at 1.  "Oh, you must be a big fan," I said.  He nodded.  "What kind of book?" I asked.  "A cookbook", he whispered.

 
The V&A Museum on a very wet day. The last time I was here was 12 years ago during Chihuly's exhibition.  It was nice to see his 30 foot chandelier still hanging at the entrance.



6th floor, the Ceramics section - the only safe place to unleash a toddler, everything is in glass cases.


He seemed happy to push his stroller, so I decided to walk us through the galleries on the other floors.  But he is a zoomer and we could barely stop, let alone take photos.  

We covered all the British galleries in 30 minutes, lol.
Lucas at the sculpture gallery of the V&A.  Yeah, he couldn't care less.




Jules Dalou's Peasant Woman Nursing Her Baby (1873 terracotta) 


My V&A buys :)


Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Colour Pops II

Another photo session yesterday.  The 'picture effect' mode on the camera is a lot of fun.  Here are some of my favourite shots:


High Contrast Monochrome.


I love this old photo look with soft colours and reduced contrast.


 
This trio, as well as most of the photos below, are in Pop mode.

The Stokke in a different light.


Toy camera effect.


And this is pretty much what he gets up to everyday..

Trying to fit into boxes.

Stepping on anything to get a leg up.

Not sure what this is.

A spot of daydreaming under the chair.


And again. 

Generally, just having a ball of a time, I guess!


This is him slowly inching towards the eggs on the table, which he is forbidden to touch.

He laughs and chats along the way and finally reaches his destination.  
And he thinks I don't notice.




Monday, April 2, 2012

Colour Pops

Today's photo session turned out some interesting shots..















 


Didn't even notice the shadow line on his face when I took the shot.








The 'mummy-I-want-to-play-with-your-camera' face.

It's all quite tiring, really.

I took 10 shots of the bag, and half of them had this little hand that just could not stay away...