Related Posts: Planning for London! and Planning for Blake’s London!
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Firstly, I just wanted to thank all the awesome bloggers who have given me very helpful advice for this trip!
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Note: This post is really just for me to try to jot down and organize all the information/recommendations/advice I’ve received about London so far. AND MORE ADVICE IS MORE THAN WELCOMED!
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Here, I’ve narrowed down the Blake historical sites to only the ones I want to see most:
- St. James’s Church: (10) Where Blake was baptized. The font still survives.
- Westminster Abbey: (10) Where Blake practiced drawing. Monument to Blake in the Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.Will probably end up here on a bus tour!
- Royal Academy, New Somerset House: (9) Where Blake studied and occasionally exhibited his work. Original building.
- 13 Hercules Buildings: (7) Where Blake produced the Songs of Experience. House demolished in 1918.
- 17 South Moulton Street: (10) Will be here on Tuesday!
- St. Mary’s, Battersea: (10) Where Blake married Kate. Original building.
- Bunhill Fields: (9) Where Blake is buried.
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Important: Buy an Oyster card!
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Harrods Vintage Bus Tour of London with Champagne Tea at Harrods
Okay, this might be really silly/crazy/touristy, but a tour in a vintage bus plus tea time? That just sounds so ridiculous (in a good way, I think)!
Won’t have time for this on Monday or Tuesday, so will have to do either Wednesday or Thursday.
Location: Starts at Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge.
Time: Starts at 1 p.m, for 5 hours.
Price: £49
Includes: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Hyde Park, the Houses of Parliament, The Royal Albert Hall, a cruise on the River Thames, and tea/scones at Harrods.
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Jack the Ripper Tour
Might have time for this on Monday, or otherwise on Wednesday.
Option #1: Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.
Option #2: Every night at 7 p.m. Outside exit 4 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 2 hours.
Option #3: Every night at 7:30 p.m. Outside exit 3 of Aldgate East Station. £9. 1 hour, 45 minutes.
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Tate Britain
At the very top of my list!!!
Tentatively, I think I might go to the Tate and V&A on Tuesday, the bus tour and possibly Jack the Ripper on Wednesday, and then the British Museum and Blake historic sites on Thursday.
Location: Millbank.
Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).
Taking photos not allowed.
- Need to find out more about the renovated Blake rooms!
- Need to figure out what else I’d like to see at the Tate!
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Victoria and Albert Museum
Location: Cromwell Road.
Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).
May take photos, unless otherwise noted.
- Ask information desk about the “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently.”
- David Bowie is: £14.00 (+£1.40 booking fee per ticket). Already bought my ticket!!
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British Museum
Location: Great Russell Street.
Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: Free.
Photography permitted in most galleries.
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National Gallery
Not sure if I’ll have time for this.
Location: Trafalgar Square.
Time: Open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Price: Free.
Taking photos not allowed.
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National Portrait Gallery
Not sure if I’ll have time for this. May go if nothing else to do on Thursday evening.
Location: St.Martin’s Place.
Time: Open Sat.-Wed. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thurs.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Price: Free (except for special exhibitions).
Taking photos not allowed.
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The Princess Louise
A restored Victorian pub. Recommended pint: Timothy Landlord’s.
Location: 208 High Holborn, Holborn. Between Covent Garden and the British Museum.
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
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Tea and Tattle
“Fresh leaf tea in a pot and bone china, scones with clotted cream and jam, finger sandwiches and tasty cakes… could anything be more British than afternoon tea in London.”
Location: 41 Great Russell Street (opposite the British Museum).
Time: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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The London Review Cake Shop
“…the traditional with a twist.”
Location: 14 Bury Place Bloomsbury (near the British Museum).
Time: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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Coach and Horses, Soho
Very shabby, but landmark.
Location: 29 Greek Street, Soho
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
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French House
Location: 49 Dean Street
Time: 12 to 11 p.m. (Food served until 4 p.m.)
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Seven Stars
Something quieter.
Location: 53-54 Carey Street (behind the Royal Courts of Justice, near some of the Blake sites around the Strand/Fleet Street).
Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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The Angel
Something quieter.
Location: 61-62 St Giles High Street (a bit of a no-man’s-land between Covent Garden and Bloomsbury that’s central yet tourist-free).
Time: 12 to 11 p.m.
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The Queen’s Arms
Location: 30 Queen’s Gate Mews (near the V&A).
Time: 12 to 11 p.m.
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The Sherlock Holmes
Has a very authentic English feel. Fish & chips.
Location: 10-11 Northumberland Street
Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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The Old Shades
Great fish & chips.
Location: 37 Whitehall (Trafalgar Square).
Time: 10/11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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Lighthouse Fish Bar
Fish & chips of mammoth proportions.
Location: 8 Tooting Bec Road (1/2 block from Tooting Bec Tube Station).
Time: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
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Curry/Indian: Any suggestions?
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The Gay Hussar
Fabulous Hungarian food and a very interesting past illustrated by the political cartoons on its walls.
Location: 2 Greek Street, Soho.
Time: 12:15 to 2:30 p.m., 5:30 to 10:45 p.m.
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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on facebook, tumblr and/or twitter.
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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas
39 comments | tags: 18th Century, Absolutely, Adventure, Adventuring, Advice, Afternoon, Airplane, Amount, Appointment, Appreciate, Appreciated, Apprentice, Arnolfini Portrait, Arrival, Arrive, Art, Artist, Artwork, Authentic, Baptism, Baptized, Basic, Basics, Battersea, Best, Big Ben, Birth, Born, Brainstorm, British, British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Building, Buried, Bus Tour, Cakes, Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, Champagne, Chunk, Church, City, Clotted Cream, Coach and Horses, Collection, Comic, Comic book, Comics, Covent Garden, Crazy, Cruise, Culture, Curry, Dante, David Bowie, David Bowie is, Death, Delight, Delighted, Delightful, Demolished, Depart, Departure, Disappointment, Display, Divine Comedy, Downing Street, Drawing, Drawings, Easiest, Easy, Edward, Edward I, Energy, England, English, Engraver, Engraving, Enthusiastic, Event, Everything, Excited, Exciting, Exhausted, Exhibit, Exhibition, Fame, Famous, Feel, Figure Out, Fish and Chips, Fly, Followers, Font, Food, Fountain, France, French House, Fresco, Friday, Galore, Graphic Novel, Grave, Hands, Harrods, Heathrow, Help, Helpful, Historic, Historic Sites, Historical, History, Hotel, House, Houses, Houses of Parliament, Hungarian, Hyde Park, Idea, Illuminated Books, Illustration, Illustrator, Important, Incredibly, Indian, Inn, Invitation, Invited, Jack the Ripper, Jack the Ripper Tour, Jam, King Edward, Knowledge, Lambeth, Landmark, Late, Lighthouse Fish Bar, Location, London, London Eye, Mammoth, Manageable, Map, Marriage, Married, Masquerade, May, Monday, Months, Monument, Monuments, Morning, Move, Moved, Mural, Museum, Museums, Naomi, Nap, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Nelson's Column, Newton, Nice, Old, On Display, Online Comic, Open, Original, Oyster Card, Painter, Paintings, Paranoia, Pen and Ink, Perfect, Perfect Timing, Permanent, Permanently, Photograph, Photographs, Pieces, Pint, Plan, Planning, Please Help, Poet, Poet's Corner, Poetry, Portraits, Poverty, Practice, Practiced, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Pre-Raphaelites, Priceless, Print Room, Produce, Proportions, Pub, Public Transit, Quiet, Quieter, Readers, Rebuilt, Recommendation, Recommended, Regency, Relax, Rembrandt, Renovated, Renovation, Research, Resource, Resources, Ripper Tour, River Thames, Rooms, Royal Academy, Royal Botanic Gardens, Royal Courts of Justice, Sandwich, Schedule, School, Scones, Secret, Secrets, Seven Stars, Shabby, Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Short, Silly, Situated, Soho, Speak, Special, Station, Statue, Subway, Success, Talk, Tate, Tea, Tea and Tattle, The Angel, The Blake Society, The Gay Hussar, The Ghost of a Flea, The London Eye, The London Review Cake Shop, The Old Shades, The Poet and the Flea, The Princess Louise, The Queen's Arms, The Royal Albert Hall, The Sherlock Holmes, Thursday, Tim Heath, Tired, Tombs, Tour, Tourism, Tourist, Tourist Free, Touristy, Trafalgar Square, Transportation, Travel, Trip, Tube, Tudor, Tuesday, UK, Underground, Upcoming, V&A, Van Gogh, Vermeer, Victoria & Albert Museum, Victorian, Vintage, Watercolor, Watercolour, Web Comic, Webcomic, Wedding, Wednesday, Westminster Abbey, William Blake, Works, Writer | posted in Brainstorming, Research, Travel
On December 8th, I attended the EBABZ (East Bay Alternative Book & Zine) Fest in Berkeley.
I found out about the EBABZ when I picked up a postcard about it at APE (Alternative Press Expo) in October.
EBABZ was a small but interesting Fest and I enjoyed walking around, checking out what other people were up to, chatting, building my zine library, and getting some advice.
＊ Milk & Carrots #2
Milk & Carrots is an anthology featuring a number of artists with vastly different styles of illustration and storytelling. I think this is a good start for anyone who’s just getting into the world of zines! Printed by Keness.com. For more information about Milk & Carrots, please visit www.ebbandflood.net.
＊ Between Here and Here by Brendan Monroe.
This zine is a dream-like abstraction filled with science, sexuality, and emotion. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but anyone can see that Brendan Monroe is insanely gifted. Check out his amazing paintings, sculptures, and comics/zines on his Tumblr!
＊ Murder Dollhouse No. 1 by Teppei Ando
Murder Dollhouse is a completely bizarre but wonderful little zine! This volume includes The Man Who Lived In Their Attic (part 1 & part 2), the full-color and delightful short She Made Me Feel Four Inches Tall, and a number of fun extras. If you like a good pulp fiction, then this is the zine for you!
＊ Melancholy Rainbow: A Sitcom, “Tastes Like July” Issue One by Nina Kim
Melancholy Rainbow feels to me like a mix between Daria and The Book of Bunny Suicides – a perfect blend of sarcasm and sadism. This is an autobiographical affair and, judging by my brief interaction with the artist, a pretty accurate one at that. Read Melancholy Rainbow for yourself at www.melancholyrainbow.com.
＊ 1984 Printing
Also, I discovered this wonderful local printer. Their products are really beautiful, high quality, and fairly priced. They gave me their very useful pricing list as well as a cute free notebook. I’m seriously considering using them down the line, whether for a small zine or possibly a bigger project.
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After stopping by the EBABZ, Wes and I ended up at this great soba restaurant called Ippuku. The whole experience was very authentic and I’d love to go back sometime.
Then, somehow, we ended up in Haight-Ashbury. We visited some of Wes’s favorite stores like Super 7, Kidrobot, and Amoeba Music, which were all a lot of fun.We also went to The Booksmith and proceeded to drool over all the gorgeous Penguin Classics hardcovers.
So, all in all, it was a very exciting day!
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For more updates, don’t forget to follow me on tumblr and/or twitter.
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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas
8 comments | tags: 1984, Abstract, Abstraction, Accurate, Advice, Alternative, Alternative Book, Alternative Press Expo, Amoeba Music, Anthology, APE, Art, Artist, Artists, Authentic, Autobiographical, Autobiography, Beautiful, Berkley, Between Here and Here, Bizarre, Blend, Brendan Monroe, Brian Herrick, Bussan 33, Buy, Chatting, Christopher Gray, Comic book, Comics, Creative, Creativity, Cute, Daria, December, Delightful, Different, Discover, Discovered, Dream, Dream-like, Drool, East Bay, EBABZ, Ebb and Flood, Emotion, Endeavor, Exciting, Experience, Extras, Featuring, Fest, Free, Full-Color, Fun, Gifted, Gorgeous, Graphic Novel, Haight-Ashbury, Hardcover, Hardcovers, High Quality, Illustration, Illustrator, Independent, Insane, Interaction, Interesting, Ippuku, Issue, James The Stanton, Jen Oaks, Josh Birdsall, Keness.com, Kidrobot, Library, Local, Malachi Ward, Matthew Sheean, Melancholy Rainbow, Melissa Geppert, Milk & Carrots, Mix, Murder Dollhouse, Nina Kim, Notebook, October, Paintings, Part, Penguin Classics, Postcard, Price, Pricing, Pricing List, Print, Printed, Printer, Product, Products, Project, Publish, Publisher, Pulp, Pulp Fiction, Read, Restaurant, Sadism, San Francisco, Sarcasm, Science, Sculpture, Sexuality, She Made Me Feel Four Inches Tall, Short, Sitcom, Small, Soba, Story, Storytelling, Strange, Super 7, Tastes Like July, Teppei Ando, The Book of Bunny Suicides, The Booksmith, The Man Who Lived In Their Attic, True, Useful, Volume, Wonderful, Writer, Writing, Zine, Zines | posted in Graphic Novel, Illustration/Design, Links
