Marie Antoinette costume talk

Today I went to the Wallace Collection to see the Marie Antoinette costume talk. Last month, I was very happy listening to Madame de Pompadour sharing her life and fashion tips, so this time I was eager to see what Marie-Antoinette has to offer. 

I am huge fan of the Queen of France. Of course she made some mistakes, but how could she not, being taken away from her family to a foreign country where she didn't know anybody and being barely 14. The talk was interesting, even though I already knew most of the things. Unfortunately it was very short - too short for my likening and that was the biggest disappointment. 

Afterwards, I wasn't keen on going shopping on Oxford Street on Friday afternoon  - it's literally madness out there. I decided to read a book in the sun. It's supposed to be the most controversial book of the year (to say the least) and tells a story of a girl being in love with the paedophile - Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir by Margaux Fragoso.

Madame de Pompadour - costume talk

I have no idea how I'm going to go clubbing tomorrow and before travel to Kent and meet AW's baby boy. My feet HURT. I went for the PT session in the morning, came back, took a shower and went to The Wallace Collection. My feet hurt when I stepped outside the door, going to the tube. So now, they're like numb. 

I wanted to cycle to The Wallace Collection, but of course the weather in London is so unpredictable that it was sunny and warm, when I took my winter jacket, scarf, gloves and... umbrella! It is just confirmation of the rule that when I take umbrella with me, it almost never rains. 

At The Wallace Collection I've spent almost an hour taking part in a costumed talk about Madame de Pompadour's life as mistress to the King of France and as  a great patroness of the arts. The lady was dressed in a beautiful dress, had a full make-up on and even her hair was styled! It was really great and I'm so happy that I went to see it. Some of the things I already knew from the Tour we went together with the Boyfriend on Sunday, but most of them were totally new. I checked out a bookstore at the museum, but sadly there was nothing on Madame de Pompadour, only Marie-Antoinette. 

unfortunately picture made from the museum's booklet

Later, I went all the way down from Bond Street to Tottenham Court Road - all the way down the Oxford Street. I stopped at Body Shop to buy little gift for AW, Boyfriend bought another gifts for her husband and son. Feels weird saying that she has a son. I ate a small lunch at the nice little park, right next to the WarnerBross London office. 

that's where I had lunch...

...sitting on this bench

Then I decided to go to Foyles and Blackwells (two nearby bookstores) and search something about Madame de Pompadour - all in all, it was her day today. But even though I've checked the websites before, there was nothing. Again, only about Marie-Antoinette and not even the books I've read about on Amazon (I'm addicted to the Amazon reviews). 

Besides, my cupcake bag was so heavy, that I already felt like a camel. Going back home from the tube was one of the longest walks of my life. Now, I only want to go to sleep.

Wallace Collection and Hyde Park on Sunday

One of my favourite museums in London is The Wallace Collection. The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury. 

The Wallace Collection is a national museum which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.

Displayed at Hertford House, the main London townhouse of its former owners, the Wallace Collection presents its outstanding collections in a sumptuous but approachable manner which is an essential part of its charm. It is probably best known for its paintings by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt, Hals (The Laughing Cavalier) and Velázquez and for its superb collections of eighteenth-century French paintings, porcelain, furniture and gold boxes, probably the best to be found anywhere outside France. There are also splendid medieval and Renaissance objects, including Limoges enamels, maiolica, glass and bronzes, as well as the finest array of princely arms and armour in Britain, featuring both European and Oriental objects.

unfortunately I am on all the pictures, so I had to crop this one.

It is a real house filled with the antique and beautiful things. It's like moving back in time to late XVIII century Paris and France. The clocks are ticking and playing unique sounds every fifteen or thirty minutes - in every room there's different one! I became familiar with this place after Mother wanted to see one of the Delaroche portraits showing Virgin Mary. Apparently, the model was Izabella Potocka - Polish aristocrat living in Paris during the time when Poland was non-existent. Mother loves her and she read almost every book on her, so it was great to actually see the portrait she was reading about and saw it in the book!

Boyfriend and me cycled to there today from our usual spot - St John's Wood - that's the nearest docking station from us. This time we took a different route and cycled through Regent's Park - there is a footpath available for cyclists too! Then we entered Marylebone High Street and passed by the old AM's flat, where her sister currently lives. It was great to cycle on the Sunday morning - there streets were mostly empty, I think that the time change had something to do with it!

We went out early today, because on 11.30am was a free Public Tour around the place. A very lovely woman told us a little bit of history of the place and we covered few major pieces of exhibition. Now I want to buy a book about Madame de Pompadour - I had no idea she was such a vital person in promoting arts. 

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick lunch - vegetarian Sunday roast - and went to see Limitless. I liked the trailers, I read few reviews and I heard that the movie is on top of the list in the USA. To be honest, I was disappointed. I was expecting something ground-breaking, but it was an action movie. In my opinion, there was no need to focus so much on fights, blood and chopped hands. The idea behind the script was great, but I think the screenplay had been lost somewhere along the way. Unfortunately it's a typical guy movie. 

The weather was so nice and it was barely 3pm when we walked outside, so after quick chat we've chosen to take a stroll in Hyde Park. It was packed. On Speaker's Corner, people listening and just general madness, at The Serpentine (a huge artificial lake in the middle, created for the Queen Caroline in 1730) people were paddling in boats and the birds were just mad with happiness. We walked all the way to the South Kensington and Harrods, then turn left to Green Park. We walked for 3 hours and I could certainly feel it in my legs. But it's great to be so tired.

Veolia Photography of the Year 2011 - National History Museum

Yesterday was our yearly anniversary - it's always so nice to celebrate - especially because Boyfriend took last Friday and today free to have even more fun!

Today we went to see Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2011 at the Natural History Museum. It is one of the most prestigious competitions of its kind, attracting entries from professional and amateur photographers of all ages worldwide. The competition seeks to promote the discovery, understanding, responsibility and enjoyment of the natural world.

As usual we were impressed by the high standard of all of the photographs and we're planning to buy the photo album with all the photographs soon. It was also nice to slowly contemplate them  without being squashed by people as it was last year!

Afghanistan exhibition - British Museum

Today we went to see much-expected Afghanistan exhibition at the British Museum - The hidden treasures of Afghanistan. At the heart of the Silk Road, Afghanistan linked the great trading routes of ancient Iran, Central Asia, India and China, and the more distant cultures of Greece and Rome. The country’s unique location resulted in a legacy of extraordinarily rare objects, which reveal its rich and diverse past. Nearly lost during the years of civil war and later Taliban rule, these precious objects were bravely hidden in 1989 by officials from the National Museum of Afghanistan to save them from destruction. The surviving treasures date from 2000 BC to the 1st century AD and include opulent gold ornaments found at a burial site of a nomadic tribe, to limestone sculptures of a Greek city set up by a former commander of Alexander the Great. The first exhibition of its kind to be seen in the UK in 40 years, this is a unique opportunity to discover the story of Afghanistan’s ancient culture, its immense fragility, and the remarkable dedication shown to its survival and protection.

Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World highlights some of the most important archaeological discoveries from ancient Afghanistan and displays precious and unique pieces on loan from the National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul currently undergoing reconstruction. The geographical position, overland connections and history ensured that it was a region which enjoyed close relations with its neighbours in Central Asia, Iran, India and China, as well as more distant cultures stretching as far as the Mediterranean. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is supporting this unique opportunity to see rare treasures of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage in the UK.

The exhibition showcases over 200 stunning objects belonging to the National Museum of Afghanistan, accompanied by selected items from the British Museum. The artefacts range from Classical sculptures, polychrome ivory inlays originally attached to imported Indian furniture, enamelled Roman glass and polished stone tableware brought from Egypt, to delicate inlaid gold personal ornaments worn by the nomadic elite. Together they showcase the trading and cultural connections of Afghanistan and how it benefited from being on an important crossroads of the ancient world.

All of these objects were found between 1937 and 1978 and were feared to have been lost following the Soviet invasion in 1979 and the civil war which followed, when the National Museum was rocketed and figural displays were later destroyed by the Taliban. Their survival is due to a handful of Afghan officials who deliberately concealed them and they are now exhibited here in a travelling exhibition designed to highlight to the international community the importance of the cultural heritage of Afghanistan and the remarkable achievements and trading connections of these past civilisations.

The earliest objects in the exhibition are part of a treasure found at the site of Tepe Fullol which dates to 2000 BC, representing the earliest gold objects found in Afghanistan and how already it was connected by trade with urban civilisations in ancient Iran and Iraq. The later finds come from three additional sites, all in northern Afghanistan, and dating between the 3rd century BC and 1st century AD. These are Ai Khanum, a Hellenistic Greek city on the Oxus river and on the modern border with Tajikistan; Begram, a capical of the local Kushan dynasty whose rule extended from Afghanistan into India; and Tillya Tepe, (“Hill of Gold”), the find spot of an elite nomadic cemetery.

The exhibition truly deserves all of the positive reviews and opinions - I've learned a lot about the history of Afghanistan and although to me it's still a country in a state of war, but also a land with huge cultural heritage.

Ancient Egyptian Book of The Dead

We had a very productive Sunday. I've woken up really early, got ready and we were out. It really helps that everyday I'm eating plain porridge with some fruit. First few spoons on Friday were more than horrible, but now, I'm actually looking forward to it every morning and it tastes great! The porridge I was usually eating was with added honey and sugar and it had too much calories for me to eat it nowadays. Besides, it was too sweet and I was always feeling funny - when I still had a couple of spoons left. This plain porridge is much healthier option and I like it! Anyway, our weekend breakfast were always a fuss - Boyfriend spent hours preparing it and now it's swift. 

On my way from the gym last week I saw a poster on the bus stop saying that Boris bikes aka bikes which are on the street and you can rent them for as long as you want them (for a price of course!) can be finally rented-as-you-go. After checking yesterday evening what the prices are, Boyfriend discovered that the booking price for 24 hours is only £1 and for first 30 minutes it's another £1. So we decided to travel to St John's Wood station and from there take a ride through Regent's Park. The sun was shining, it was warm - a perfect weather for the bike ride! I was so scared of riding on the London streets, because my first ride was a disaster. In the end, we couldn't ride into the Regent's Park, because there's a ban on bikes, so we decided to ride to British Museum. So we rode around Regent's Park, through Great Portland Street (Boyfriend's work) and next to the UCL. We were riding for around an hour and it was just GREAT! However, I couldn't focus on sightseeing this time, because I was constantly alerted and in a deep shock.

That's my bike - 17217!

We came to British Museum because there's a fantastic exhibition: Ancient Egyptian Book of The Dead. I am a Member, so we could go and see it anytime and without queuing. Yey! Those, who were on Sunday in a British Museum know that it's absolutely crowded or I should rather say swarmed with people. We went to see this exhibition last week, but only managed to see half of it, because they were closing the Museum (earlier in a day it took us a really long time to find a place to eat). So now we only had second half to see. I must say that this option worked even better. 

Entrance to the Museum

The exhibition is heavily founded on the papyrus and after a while you loose interest and patience to look at it. Because I was fresh I could concentrate better on the next half, unlike other people who simply passed, because it was too tiring. I must admit that the exhibition is very time-consuming and with only few places to sit, it's easy to get tired. I read so much about that I was expecting something a little more spectacular - maybe like famous The Terracotta Army. But in overall, I enjoyed it, and that's most important thing. 

Before going to the exhibition we ate some lunch - we were really hungry after the bike ride - and later we went to eat some more food to a French bistro. I ordered two starters - a soup and caesar salad, which turned out to be one of the best salads I've eaten in my entire life! Because it was only 2.30pm we went to Swiss Cottage to see Black Swan. Boyfriend absolutely loved the movie, I, on  the other hand, was expecting something more - similarly to the exhibition I read a lot of reviews so I made up in my head this great movie. I'm not saying I was disappointed, but I thought it was going to be a little different. Still - the ending is perfect.