Photo Pest: Covent Garden

Despite it's prominence in my imagination, I don't think I'd ever experienced Carnaby Street before. It's now part of a shopping area called the Newburgh Quarter and about as removed from the Swinging Sixties as you can get. It's all about branding, baby.

Nothing sums up what rock 'n roll has become better than the Rolling Stones store which I avoided with the same fervor as their overpriced baby boomer nostalgia concerts although I continue to love their music.

Still the neighborhood is full of interesting buildings and landmarks.

Palladium

Hippodrome

After visiting central London for a week in late October, I'm not sure Times Square can claim to be the "crossroads of the world" any longer. Tourists thronged no less in Leicester Square. What must it be like in July?

Tube signs suggest that passengers get off at the stop before or after Covent Garden and walk to their destination because of crowds. I couldn't wait to get out of the area completely. Not my scene at all.

We took refuge at the Friendly Society in Soho where the young bartenders, living up to the joint's name, referred to us as "boys" and knew how to make Chris a Manhattan. Too bad we were early.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Saturday Crowds

A drizzly Saturday was the price we paid for Friday's sunny weather. The Victoria and Albert Museum kept us warm and dry. It houses a vast collection of eye candy.

We started at the top in the vast porcelain collection, among the crowds of figurines.

The museum's floors creak as you walk through galleries that have been around for as long as many of the items on display.

I'm a BIG fan of Aubrey Beardsley (also known as Awfully Weirdly!) who was an editor at this Victorian publication.

We had to purchase a ticket for "You Say You Want a Revolution: Records and Rebels 1966-1970," pop culture catnip for baby boomers especially with its Woodstock room. Cool, man, cool. Too bad about the crowds and no photographs policy but I did manage to capture Twiggy, whom I adore almost as much as Aubrey. Carnaby Street in its heyday is definitely a place I would visit in my time machine.

Best Bowie album cover ever (from my own collection)! The Thin White Duke blew a mean sax. If you don't believe me, just listen to his 1973 covers of "Sorrow" and "I Can't Explain."

Afterward, we popped into Harrods, a short walk away from the V&A in Knightsbridge. The fading emporium, distinguished now only for its architecture, illustrates the downside of globalism. You can buy the same luxury products anywhere if you have the money. Tom and Audrey were tickled to discover that one brand is selling like hotcakes. They bought Zoltan a Canada Goose jacket long before it became a thing.