For our last day in London we planned an itinerary that took us to four separate neighborhoods. First, we walked along Bayswater Road for the weekly Sunday Art Exhibition. Unfortunately, not many artists were displaying by 10am due to weather. We’ll need to re-try at a different time of year perhaps.
Next up was Islington. Our original plan was to use the Lancaster Gate tube station, which we found closed. A quick check of Google maps suggested the 274 bus so we hopped on. The 30 minute ride gave us a new view of several neighborhoods that we normally miss on the underground and dropped us off within a block of our first street art stop.
We got off the bus in Barnsbury, then walked to Islington, looking for street art. We did find some murals, but it looked like many had been painted over. Overall, a bit disappointing compared to other neighborhoods in London.
I had picked out a French Bistro for lunch, Le Sacre Coeur, but it was mysteriously closed at noon despite the hours on their sign stating otherwise. Thankfully, there were several neighboring restaurants open, and we opted for the bustling Spanish place, La Farola, on the corner. Trendy (lots of customers with yoga pants and hipster haircuts), but friendly service and tasty food.
From Islington we took another bus down to South Bank/Waterloo, first to see the Falling Shawls exhibit, then to procure a Cadbury Creme Egg s’more!
On the way back to the room we had a quick stop at V&A Museum to check out a few exhibits we missed on the previous visit.
For the afternoon we knew we wanted to try Gordon’s Wine Bar and their famous basement cave. We got there around 4pm and managed to grab the last empty table! Leandra’s Aunt Kim met us for wine and a delicious cheese tray a short time later. All food and wine is ordered at the bar and then you bring it to your table. The cheese guy was chatty and helpful, offering Leandra generous samples so she could choose a cheese. For wines, there is a good selection by the glass, and a fairly extensive bottle selection that was reasonably priced. Additionally, they did have a good selection of sherries. Definitely recommended if you can get a table.
Around 6:30p we bid our goodbyes and walked up the street to Piccadilly Circus to see The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. Great word-play, sight gags, and overall silliness had us gasping for breath at parts and elicited several rounds of applause from the highly amused audience. We absolutely loved it, and a great way to end our weekend in London!