A Capital Christmas - Part 3

So - Boxing Day. What a strange day it always seems. Most places still closed, people (mad in my opinion) queuing and rushing to the Sales...it can be a bit flat and sad. But we were determined to have fun and headed to Covent Garden (on foot) to have a beautiful brunch at Kopapa . There'll be a review on my food blog soon so I won't spoil that - but it was a wonderful treat!

We wandered home through the throngs in Covent Garden...avoiding as many shops as possible! I can't stand crowds and it makes me a little panicky sometimes to be in the middle of a lot of people...but the famous Piazza was fairly quiet. There was a special Christmas art installation called Merry Kissmas - you had to kiss under mistletoe and the electricity lit the huge tree up! But the queue was too long, sadly!

I hope you can see the beautiful topiary Rudolph - and note the well placed iconic red phone boxes too!!

Paul cooked me an amazing fresh tomato pasta dish with chilis & capers for supper and we just relaxed and watched old movies...perfect.

And yesterday we decided to go somewhere that I've never been...and I can't quite believe that I haven't! The British Museum holds so many amazing treasures from all over the world...

sarcophagi, mummies and other artefacts from Ancient Egypt...

sculptures and pottery from all periods of history (this is Charles 1, one of our doomed monarchs...!)

and (my favourite) exhibitions of various amazing items discovered by people with metal detectors, or just when ploughing fields...hoards of ancient coins, jewels,gold and silver like the beautiful ornate dish pictured above, which was found at Mildenhall in Suffolk. The museum is so vast, that it's impossible to see very much on one visit... we just headed for things we especially wanted to see this time.

I must admit that, while I've wanted to see the Egyptian mummies since I was a child when I actually did, I didn't enjoy it too much. I think this is because I was slightly uneasy that all these artefacts had, in effect, been stolen from the places that they belonged - even though that happened many, many years ago. It also felt wrong to be looking at the dead in that way...they'd been so beautifully & reverently preserved, wrapped, adorned, laid to what was assumed to be eternal rest...and here they were in glass cases being stared at (&usually photographed) by all who passed.That's why there are no pictures here. But maybe I'm being too sensitive! I adored the museum as a whole and will definitely be making more visits there...

And so, this morning, we packed up our Christmas and headed back. Alice was equally good on the train home...

But she was still happy to arrive at the other end...

and now we're settling back and getting ready for New Year and celebrating at the farm with my parents, little sister & youngest nephew.

So that was our Christmas 2010 - eventful, not at all what we expected and a little wistful. But there's serendipity in all situations, and we really enjoyed ourselves in beautiful London. And I can't wait for 2011 now, to see what that will bring.

Enjoy the rest of this strange 'limbo' week...between Christmas & New Year...looking back and looking forward too.

See you at the farm! xoxo