Portobello Market,Courtauld Gallery, Covent Garden, & Neal's Yard | London, England

Day 5 we explored Portobello Road Market, Courtauld Gallery, Covent Garden, and Neal's Yard. On our way to the Portobello Road Market we found the best tacky souvenir shop! These shops are all over London and it looks like the Union Jack exploded everywhere. This particular shop had really good prices on most of their items and we found mugs from the royal wedding with pictures of Will and Kate for 99p! Definitely worth a look if you are in the area. 

Tacky London Souviner Shop

Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, & the Tate Modern | London, England

On day 4 it was threatening to rain all day so we visited the Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, and the Tate Modern.

The Tate Britain has a ton of works and ephemera from J.M.W. Turner. However, they were mainly his works with figures (at least those were the pieces on view when we visited), not the dramatic landscapes and seascapes I was hoping to see. Those Turner paintings are on view at the National Gallery. Nonetheless, Tate Britain has some incredible paintings by John Singer Sargent as well as literary/romance/Pre-Raphaelite works. Those pieces were installed in the salon style so some of them were difficult to see well.

Boat Tour, Dover Castle, & Saying Hello to France | Dover, England

On day 3 we visited Dover and went on a boat tour of the White Cliffs and visited Dover Castle with its World War II tunnels. Dover is located on the southern coast of England. It has gorgeous white cliffs and you can see France across the English Channel on a clear day. 

The Dover locals are funny. When we got off the train we asked a train worker when the last train left (so we wouldn't get stranded), but he wouldn't tell us the time. Instead he said something along the lines of, "Oh you won't miss it. There's nothing to see here at night. There's not a whole lot to see during the day." I guess everyone feels that way about their home town, but I thought Dover was fantastic. 

The Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Hard Rock Cafe, and the London Eye | London, England

On day 2 we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods Food Hall, London Eye, and the Hard Rock Cafe Vault. 

The V&A is AMAZING!!! They had a temporary exhibition showcasing Italian fashion that was spectacular, but it didn't allow photography so sorry for no photographic evidence. We also explored the furniture, jewelry (no photos either), and stained glass galleries. All of the exhibitions and galleries were gorgeous! The building was beautiful as well and has an inner courtyard with a reflecting pool, chairs, cafe, and loads of people enjoying the sun. I could have explored the museum all day, but I had more museums on my list and I didn't want to push my luck with my non-art nerd friend :)