July 2026
The weather in London is delightful after the heat dome in Paris, which is so wonderful as walking the city without overheating and dehydrating makes for a much more fun day.
It was a very random day.
The Royal Institute
The Royal Institution of Great Britain was founded in 1799 by the era’s leading British scientists, including Henry Cavendish who discovered “inflammable air” (hydrogen) and its first president, the ninth Earl of Winchilsea, George Finch. A history guide written by the organization notes its aim: to make science more accessible “by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life.”
There is a museum in the lowest part of the Institution that has been at 21 Albemarle Street since its inception. In the museum, you will find Michael Faraday’s laboratory and a whole slew of other cool things regarding scientists and science from the past.
Church of Notre Dame de France
If you have been in London, you know that Leicester Square is just chock-a-block with tourist trinket shops and tourists. In the middle of the hubbub in a church, most everyone walks right past. However, inside are these lovely murals painted by French artist Jean Cocteau in 1959, and they are the only works of their kind outside of France.
To the left, two Roman soldiers, Jean Cocteau has painted himself into the grouping with his face looking away with an expression most likely only he would be able to interpret.
The mosaic of the Nativity is by Boris Anrep, done in 1954.
Three Figures
“Three Figures’ is by British sculptor Neal French (1933- ). It depicts a photographer, a model, and a curious passerby. The photographer is the filmmaker Terence Donovan (1936 – 1996), whose studio was located nearby at 30 Bourdon Street.
The model is Dame Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy.
The other figure symbolizes the everyman.
This sculpture was commissioned by Grosvenor Estate in 2012. The piece was meant to reflect the area’s impact on the ‘Swinging Sixties’.
Mount Street Gardens
It was a gloriously cool day in London, so most every park bench was full in the garden.
This area first served as a burial ground in 1723. Two years later, a workhouse was added to the site, followed by Grosvenor Chapel in 1730.
Despite the fact that I could find this one grave marker, the weird thing about this – once a cemetery – is its lack of corpses. This area was a prime spot for grave robbers of the Victorian Era, who sold the bodies to medical schools.
Mayfair
While walking in Mayfair, I spotted this rather amazing building. It is the private club Annabel’s. This installation features 120 handcrafted flowers, birds, and butterflies, designed to resemble an English country garden. Apparently, the club transforms its exterior seasonally, with this specific design taking over 2,000 hours of craftsmanship to complete. After googling the club, I found the interior to be as insanely ornate as the exterior.
William Blake
On the walls of a grimy railroad underpass are these mosaic murals that reflect a piece of Blake’s art—some are recreations of paintings, while others are inspired by verses of poetry. They can also be found in other areas of the Lambeth neighborhood where Blake lived.
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National Covid Memorial Wall
The National Covid Memorial Wall was painted by volunteers to commemorate the UK victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. Started in March 2021, it covers more than one-third of a mile along the South Bank of the River Thames, opposite the Palace of Westminster. The memorial consists of over 250,000 red hearts, one for each person in the United Kingdom who died with COVID-19 on their death certificate
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