London sparkled two Saturdays ago with the bright sunshine, and the Christmas decorations and lights, walking around the city was a delight.
Berkeley Square Gardens in Mayfair, a little oasis of peace and calm away from all the bustle of the crowds doing their Christmas shopping.
The modernist Christmas tree made out of orange and yellow plastic tubes
Note: As a result of the comment that Olga left on this post, I now know that this is a sculpture by Dale Chihuly, and it's made of glass.
Also in Berkeley Square Gardens, Paddington Bear, part of the Paddington Bear Trail. In celebration of London's art, culture and innovation, the release of the movie, and to raise money for the NSPCC, fifty bears are dotted around the city during December.
Nothing to do with Christmas: I am including these gates because I think they are gorgeous
Ditto.
A giant clock mechanism displayed in this shop on Bond Street. It reminded me of the Manufacturer's Hanover Trust building in New York, where the bank's vault is displayed in the window, and which you can see here .
Another bear on Bond Street.
By the time we reached Covent Garden the crowds had multiplied
How do they do it?
I still haven't figured it out.
Note: Another comment from a reader has solved this mystery. You can find the answer here
Lots of entertainment in Covent Garden as usual
in a very festive atmosphere
a variety of decorations
The ubiquitous selfie
The enormous Christmas tree outside the market
and another even bigger one in Trafalgar Square.
I was enjoying your post until a sharp intake of breath! The orange and yellow plastic tubes in Berkeley Square are in fact glass: a sculpture by Dale Chihuly, which we also enjoyed seeing when we went up to the Kiefer exhibition. http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2014/04/29/photo-of-the-day-the-sun-by-dale-chihuly-in-berkeley-square/
ReplyDeleteSorry, this is another example of my nerdishness! Anyway, thanks for giving me a vicarious view of the festive sights in London that I enjoy at a safe distance.
Thank you for this Olga. We were so intent on finding the Gagosian which we had not visited before, that we were a bit distracted. I should have paid more attention and gone closer. Glass tubing is quite a fragile material for public sculpture, but how lovely. And now I know. A pity I won't have a chance to go again and look properly.
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