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
★ Don’t forget to check out my graphic novel, The Poet and the Flea!
A new page every Wednesday!
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Here is a brief update on my current creative projects and endeavors…!
Friday, December 21st
- I’m Going To Cannes!!!
- Started to fill out some paperwork for Cannes.
- Applied to a few more fellowships/internships.
Saturday, December 22nd
- Family bonding day! Adventure in Chinatown and North Beach.
Sunday, December 23rd
- Worked on The Flea script.
- Saw “Royal Treasures From the Louvre: Louis XIV to Marie Antoinette” at the Legion of Honor.
- Date night with Wes!(*´▽`*)
Monday, December 24th
- Filled out some more paperwork for Cannes.
- Worked on applications for a few more fellowships/internships.
Tuesday, December 25th
- Brunch/linner with family.
- Worked on applications for a few more fellowships/internships.
- Signed up with two illustration communities: IllustrationMundo and The Little Chimp Society.
Wednesday, December 26th
- Worked on applications for a few more fellowships/internships.
- Worked on The Flea script.
- Bought a copy of Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe by Frederik L. Schodt.
- Went to see A Royal Affair, a film I’ve been dying to see for months! I just adore Danish films as well as Mads Mikkelsen, so this was quite the treat. The acting, costumes, and script were just amazing. I hope everyone who likes period pieces has a chance to see this.

Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!
Thursday, December 27th
- Mailed out paperwork for Cannes.
- Trip to the de Young Museum. Saw a wonderful Toulouse-Lautrec piece. Looking forward to upcoming exhibits: “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and “Rembrandt’s Century.”
- Worked on The Flea script.
Friday, December 28th
- Worked on applications for a few more fellowships/internships.
- Went to see The Nutcracker with family (“Note on The Nutcracker“).
Etcetera
- The Poet and the Flea: 63 pages of written script (1 page of script = 4-6 illustrated pages), and about 36 pages (1-24, 27-30 completed, and 25-26, 31-36 in progress) of illustrated work.
- The First Reich: about 1-10 pages of illustrated work in progress.
To Do:
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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
4 comments | tags: 2013, A Royal Affair, Acting, Adventure, Amazing, Application, Applications, Art, Artwork, Ballet, Blog, Bonding, Book, Bookstore, Brunch, Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, Chance, Chinatown, Circus, Comic book, Comics, Communities, Community, Costumes, Creative, Creativity, Culture, Current, Danish, Date, de Young, December, Denmark, Endeavors, Exhibit, Exhibition, Family, Fellowship, Festival, Film, Flea, France, Frederik L. Schodt, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Graphic Novel, Illustration, IllustrationMundo, Illustrator, Internship, Japan, Japanese, Job, Legion of Honor, Linner, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI, Mads Mikkelsen, Mail, Marie Antoinette, Movie, Museum, North Beach, Online Comics, Paperwork, Period Piece, Piece, Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe, Projects, Purchase, Rembrandt, Rembrandt's Century, Royal Treasures From the Louvre, San Francisco, Screenplay, Screenwriter, Script, Search, Tchaikovsky, The Little Chimp Society, The Nutcracker, The Poet and the Flea, Toulouse-Lautrec, Travel, Treat, Upcoming, Update, Vermeer, Web Comic, Webcomic, Wednesday, Wes, Writer, Writing | posted in Illustration/Design, Travel, Update