Misc

[oxoniensis]

London people, any suggestions for something good to do in London for a few hours in dubious weather tomorrow (the forecast keeps changing, but it's probably going to be rainy at least part of the day)? Somewhere off the beaten track would be good, and I'd love some walk suggestions in case the weather holds, but I'll need to be back for the

Comments

[faith_less_one]

I'm in Kent, but my favourite place to go in London is the Science Museum! Always fun, and they've got some cool exhibitions on at the moment. Astronomy, F1, Online Communication...

Also, you said you like aquariums, and there's a 3D movie of deep sea creatures!

[oxoniensis]

An F1 exhibition! That sounds good. And a 3D movie, yes. I've been to the Science Museum tons of time, but not for years, so it's probably time I went again. Thanks for the suggestion.

[fabrisse]

If you haven't been to Sir John Soane's Museum, you should go. He was an architect who designed a large part of iconic London in the early 19th century, and his home reflects his diverse interests. It's fascinating and beautiful. It's near Holburn, so you're an easy shot for the theater afterward.

[oxoniensis]

Funnily enough, I was meeting up with friends a week or two ago, and that was on my list of suggestions for things we could do together. We ended up going to the Transport Museum instead (okay for an hour or so, but I wouldn't really recommend it), but I must go to Sir John Soane's Museum sometime. I'm thinking that'd be a good place when I want to fill just a couple of hours, rather than a whole day, though, or is there enough to last say, five or six hours?

[fabrisse]

I would say it's a good 1 - 3 hours. I rarely get out of there in under two, but it's too small to stay four.

I hope you enjoy it. *G*

[taurenova]

I was also going to suggest the Science Museum (what, Jen? you don't even live in London!) if only because the last time I went there I gave my backpack to the guy to check and he looked in the top, saw my chocolate, joked about it and then sent me on my way.

(It's not that I'm advocating poor security, btw, I just liked the assumption that some pale, short, Antipodean sounding girl with Green & Black's chocolate in her bag is unlikely to be the terrorist that you're looking for.

And considering the fact that the guy at the British Library felt around my entire back-pack and then also my messenger bag - I felt much more kindly disposed to the Science Museum guy)

And it's maybe possible that the Hubble 3D movie is on at the Imax there. I'm sure I read that's the only place you can see it in the UK right now. Don't take my word for it, though.

[oxoniensis]

The Science museum seems to be winning! It'll be good, actually, whatever the weather - if it's raining, I'll take the tube there, and if it's nice, I can walk there through Hyde Park.

I always appreciate friendly security people/shop assistants/baristas etc - it makes a day so much nicer when people are pleasant and cheery.

[loki_dip]

Oxford isn't London but it's close enough that I can play...

Science, Natural History and V&A museums are good, free and you can be a dork for a couple of hours.

Hyde Park is normally quiet at this time of year. I like wondering it anyway. Or there's Tower Bridge.

And dammit, missed the icon requests.

[oxoniensis]

I love the V&A too (though I wish flash photography were banned in more galleries than just the jewellery gallery because the constant flashing makes me blink), but I've been there a couple of times this year already. I'm inclined to think the Science museum, and if the weather's nice, I might walk through Hyde Park first, have a coffee there. There might even be something interesting on at the Serpentine Gallery.

Throw up a couple of pictures on the icon requests if you like - I don't think people realised I closed it, so I can always keep going another day.

[loki_dip]

That sounds like a great plan.

And yeah, flash photography in galleries at all annoys me. (When I was in NYC it was much worse, and not as quiet as museums are in the UK. It was weird.)

[oxoniensis]

I'm just hoping it won't be too wet.

The flashes in the fashion exhibit are just awful - it's really dim in there, so they really stand out. And they're constant, not one every few minutes even. Last time I was there I ended up in the ironwork section, because it was nice and quiet and there was no one photographing things! It was also surprising interesting - all these old keys and metal boxes and things, so complex.

[templemarker]

It might be a bit cliched, but whenever I have several hours to spare I always go directly to the British Museum or the Tate Modern, depending on where I am. The British Museum is perhaps my favorite place in all of London; I'm sure I've spend days there overall. But also, a favorite comic shop and hole in the wall pub are both within five minutes' walk, and I find the whole neighbourhood to be very diverting. Three bookshops within ten minutes' walk, a massive Forbidden Planet around the corner (in addition to Gosh, which is the one I rather prefer), and a pint in a pub with quiet corners to read one's graphic novels in--yeah, I could stay there for ages. And have!

[oxoniensis]

Ahaha, great minds and all that. I've been to the British Museum twice this year, and the Tate Modern once already. Though I do find them best for just an hour or two - I usually just do one or two rooms in the British Museum at a time. And yes, that is a nice area to mooch around in. So, for that matter, is the whole south bank, from the Tate Modern along to the National. I just always seem to end up there, so I was after something different for a change. I suspect I'm going to end up in the Science Museum tomorrow.

[templemarker]

Yeah, I'll generally avoid the Egyptian rooms, and, as a rule of thumb, anything on the left side of the building. Too many tourists bumbling about not knowing what to do with themselves. I read Latin/Classics as a secondary subject in university, and part of why I lived in Britain for several years was because I was chasing that subject down; so the rooms devoted to artefacts from Roman Britain are my go-to favorites. I love the Japanese rooms, too, because they're tucked up so far away that it's always quiet, and the BM apparently has a good relationship with the Japanese gov't that the exhibits change frequently

[oxoniensis]

Oh, I love the Tate Gallery - I always try to go early and go straight to the back, while it's still quiet. Much as I love modern art, I have a soft spot for the Pre-Raphaelites (which is why I love Leighton House, just off Kensington High Street - a bit of a hidden gem), so the Tate's a frequent stop. The Portrait Gallery I just pop into if I'm in the area and the weather's poor! *g*

I have no problem with dissections - kind of related to my job! Actually, I just remembered that the last time I went to the science museum it was taking a bunch of kids, one of whom was on Ritilin, but had forgotten to take it... Fun times! *g*