{adventures abroad} london: day two - valentine's day

our first full day in london just happened to be valentine's day.
of course, A had to work, so i took the tube to covent garden to explore the open-air antique market there.

there were so many lovely things to look at, but i somehow escaped without buying a single thing. i ambled along a little street behind the market in what i hoped was the direction of trafalgar square. along the way i discovered the sweetest little shop on earth where {once again} i wanted to buy everything i saw.

after spending perhaps just a little bit too much time in that shop, i continued on my way and finally found myself in bustling trafalgar square on what might have been the most beautiful day london has ever seen. i took a leisurely tour of the national gallery {rembrandt, van gogh, velazquez, turner, etc.} and bought a sandwich from the museum cafe, which i ate on the steps in front of the square. the view and the people-watching were phenomenal {i particularly enjoyed the gentleman walking his ferrets}.

 re-energized by my sandwich, i wandered some more, headed for piccadilly circus. there's not much to say about piccadilly circus - it's london's answer to times square. busy, loud, dirty, crowded. there were, however, some very thoughtfully placed valentine's day decorations.

i took the tube from piccadilly to oxford circus to do a little bit more shopping. first stop: top shop. overwhelming. far too many pretty things. including a cupcake shop in the middle of the store! joy of joys!

after top shop i went to h&m, but my shopping adventure was interrupted by A, who was finished with work for the day! we left oxford street for south kensington and the inner-child appeal of the natural history and science museums. space and time exploration, dinosaur and dodo bones, creepy crawlies, all for free and in the most beautiful old building right across from the v&a!

we were starving by the time the museum closed, so we went in search of food, which we found on selwood terrace at the anglesea arms. after our tempura scallops, truffle mushroom cheese pate, and a few snakebites, we wandered back to the tube station, where my lovely husband bought me a valentine's day rose...i do believe i am quite the lucky lady!