The London Traveler

It’s raining again – and you forgot your umbrella. What can you do?
Of course you can buy a brolly from Boots, or even from a street vendor. You can buy one of those cheap and ugly fold-up black umbrellas, that will last a couple of outings before it blows inside out. You see dead umbrellas rolling along Tottenham Court road sometimes in a rainstorm, deserted by their owners…
Or you can turn to the professionals. That means a visit to James Smith & Sons, at 53, New Oxford Street. They’ve been there since 1830, behind their splendid Victorian shop front. They …read more

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Half way down High Holborn is one of my favourite pubs in London – the Cittie of Yorke.
It’s a lovely traditional pub – if I was visiting London and only had time for a single pub, I think this would be the one.
The creamy stone Gothic facade should tip you off that this is something quite special. Go in and if you don’t stop in the front bar, with its wood panelling, go down the passageway and at the back you’ll find a massive hall, with a fine high timbered ceiling and a row of enormous beer barrels over the …read more

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In the City of London, tucked away just to the north of St Paul’s cathedral, is a tiny park. It’s not a bad place to relax and eat a sandwich, if you’ve been visiting St Paul’s; City office workers often come here for their lunch.
But look beneath the lean-to shelter on one wall, and you’ll find there’s more to the park than meets the eye. Hand-lettered tiles commemorate ordinary people who lost their lives saving others. Mary Rogers, Stewardess of the Stella, who gave up her lifebelt and went down with the ship. A schoolboy who died trying to save …read more

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Moshi Moshi Sushi is hidden away on the mezzanine of Liverpool Street Station, above the trains and the busy commuters, and behind the Marks & Spencer’s food store. It’s so well hidden that I suspect many of its habitués consider it something of a secret.
Well, tough. Because I’m going to tell you about it!
Go into the restaurant and the first thing you’ll see is a bar with a conveyor belt running round the sides. On the conveyor, little plates of sushi slowly go by; salmon, tuna, seaweed wrapped maki sushi.
If you sit at the bar, you simply take whichever sushi …read more

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If you want to see the best of the royal palaces in London, in my mind there’s only one choice. Ignore Buckingham Palace, don’t bother with St James’s – take a trip out of town and spend the day at Hampton Court.
 

Hampton Court is practically two palaces in one. First of all, there’s the fine red brick Tudor palace started by Cardinal Wolsey – the last flush of the Gothic style. And secondly, there’s the fine baroque palace by Sir Christopher Wren – an English rival to Versailles.
Wolsey began the palace in 1514. It wasn’t just his private residence – …read more

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If you’re intending to visit the National Gallery you may be interested in an audio tour with a difference.
Former Director Charles Saumarez Smith chose his favourite paintings in the gallery and narrates the tour himself. He also gets members of staff to comment on the works – for instance the head of the Conservation department tells how difficult it is to look after a Van Gogh properly.
And if you found that fascinating, there’s a separate tour all about conservation issues. It includes the detective work that proves the ‘Cosimo Tura’ allegory was actually started by another artist – and …read more

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If you fancy seeing London a different way you can rent a bike from a number of places.
London Bicycle Company is based in Gabriel’s Wharf, on the South Bank. Bikes cost £18 for the first day, but if you rent for longer, the per diem price gets cheaper.
Budgiebikes offer bright yellow bicycles at £9.50 a day, or £1.50 an hour. Budge operates out of a number of London Youth Hostels, including St Pancras, Holland Park, Earls Court, and Thameside.
A different way of renting is offered by OYbike. It’s similar to the Paris Velib scheme; you need to become a …read more

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Indian sweets in London
Yes, I know it’s that time of year when we’ve all vowed to give up alcohol, go on the Atkins diet and lose weight.
But I couldn’t resist some of the delicious confections served up by Ambala Sweets, in Drummond Street, last time I was in Euston.
Badam barfi, for instance, is a creamy sweet made from almonds, like fudge but better. You can have fig halwa, like Turkish delight made with figs and pistachio, or the sweet, sticky curlicues of jalebi covered in syrup.
There’s carrot halwa (gajar halwa) like a slightly spicier version of carrot cake – …read more

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If you’re intending to visit the National Gallery you may be interested in an audio tour with a difference.
Former Director Charles Saumarez Smith chose his favourite paintings in the gallery and narrates the tour himself. He also gets members of staff to comment on the works – for instance the head of the Conservation department tells how difficult it is to look after a Van Gogh properly.
And if you found that fascinating, there’s a separate tour all about conservation issues. It includes the detective work that proves the ‘Cosimo Tura’ allegory was actually started by another artist – and …read more

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Timothy Taylor Gallery, in the West End, is hosting an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s photographs from 18 January to 29 February.
Warhol’s photos, the gallery says, show him as “the lover of boring things”. What’s amazing is the enthusiasm with which he photographs the detritus of urban life – bottles left lying in a street, the textures of modernist buildings, a homeless person lying in a doorway.
Lovers of Pop Art will recognise Warhol’s obsession with repetition, too, from his prints of soup cans, Marilyn Munroe, or dollar bills. He takes photos of bottles lined up on a shop’s shelves, or focuses …read more

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