Covent Garden

The weather here has just been gorgeous lately.  What was a temperate, but very soggy winter, has dried up nicely with warmer days, lots of breezy days, and occasionally, a giant orb of fire in the sky visible between the dense layers of fog, smog, and clouds.



I recently spent a day wandering around a neighborhood that I haven't really explored too much before, despite it being very central- Covent Garden.



It's kind of tourist central there.





There's tons of trendy upscale shops, and a really beautiful covered market with lace-like ironwork and a nice warming greenhouse effect inside.  The Market was packed, and filled with a few gems.  Like a Shake Shack.



Seriously.  I knew they were popping up all over NYC, but I had no idea they had made the leap across the pond.  There was limited seating, but if you could elbow your way to table, it was a good people-watch.









Just North of the market there are loads of antiques and vintage clothing stores, along with trendy places to be seen eating.







I took a meandering route up to the British Museum.  One of the things I'm loving is the free museums, since I don't feel obligated to get my money's worth and stay all day, but I can duck in and out as I please.



I'm finding that an hour is about right for me.  Any more and my eyes get glazed, I get yawny and blurred, and I stop appreciating art and I can only think about how nice fresh air might be.



The British museum is enormous, and filled with so many treasures.  You just have to pick a section you want to see, and then stick with the plan.  It's easy to get pleasantly lost.







A new discovery, from the Japan wing:



A print by Makino Yoshio, a Japanese artist who lived in London early last century.  I loved the combination of the delicate, sparse Japanese style combined with the 1920's European scene.  I've been looking for a print for my still-sparse walls, but he's apparently too obscure of an artist to have a lot of prints commercially available.

Ah well.  The search for decorative bits for my blandly white-and-beige flat continues.