Being a tourist in my home town and summer update ..

pink prosecco

Now that August is upon us, the days are getting noticeably shorter and darkness now falls by 9pm .. those hazy days of summer seem few and far between again this year. Granted we have had some beautiful days and a couple of scorchers but mingled in with some not-so-warm days and smatterings of precipitation - so our memories play tricks on us as we recall the perfect summers of our childhood. 

In two weeks time HQ will be in Milan, Italy again .. the annual girl's weekend for new season's clothes shopping has come around again so swiftly, there's barely been time to think about it! However, we are pretty organised when it comes to booking flight and hotels so that was sorted out months ago and the only funds we need take with us are purely for our entertainment and shopping! Yay can't wait!

Yesterday my friend and I played tourist in London and went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Audrey Hepburn exhibition Portraits of an Icon. We got a bus to Covent Garden and wandered through the market (something I haven't done in ages) and it was remarkably quiet which for me made it all the more enjoyable. We browsed a few shops and made our way to the gallery which is a short walk away in Trafalgar Square. The exhibition was relatively small but fabulous and if you like Audrey Hepburn then you really must try to get to see it. I have many books about her so I opted for a fridge magnet as my memento of the day! 

After a light lunch we walked to Embankment pier and picked up the Thames Clipper commuter boat and travelled on the river towards Greenwich taking in the iconic landmarks of London. I have to say I never tire of the view and there always seems to be more to see every time I take that trip. 

HMS President

Moored along the Victoria Embankment is the WWI ship HMS President which serves now as a bar/restaurant/conference centre. In July of last year a German artist Tobias Rehberger was commissioned to cover the ship entirely in dazzle camouflage design. The idea was originally used during WW1 as a way of distorting the appearance of the ship to make it hard for the enemy to target it accurately. An ingenious idea! I knew nothing of this before I'd seen this with my own eyes! You never know what you might learn day to day!

We had a lovely day out and have decided that we are going to try to do a culture day at least once a month .. there are so many galleries and exhibitions in town, it would seem rude not to!


#Hepburn #blogger #dazzleship