Alison

Streets, Murals and Rooftops of London

During our stay in England we found time to escape for a couple of day trips up to London. For Anthony is was all about retail and restaurants for me bars and buildings. Fortunately we each found what we were looking for.

I love walking around the streets of the City and up to Brick Lane it brings back so many memories from when I used to work in London. I remember working in quite a few of these older buildigs. I used to be a legal secretarial temp so had many jobs over 16 years. Although the old buildings are still standing there are many skyscrapers and new streets that I can’t always get my bearings. Not just buildings either but all of the old pubs are still there and I have definitely been in a few of those for after work drinks on a Friday.

Views from a Rooftop Bar

Walking to Brick Lane we saw that another fantastic building had materialised since our last trip, we discovered it was a new Hilton. I could see there was a rooftop bar with a balcony so we decided to head up and take a look. The bar is called Floratica and is decorated with stunning lights and plants. We sipped on cocktails looking out at the panaramic views of London rooftops.

Zoom in and there is St. Paul’s in the distance
From one roof top to another
The Gherkin on the right

After finishing our drinks we set out for Brick Lane, for me to see any new murals and Anthony to head to his favourite shop.

Murals and Sculptures


The first CR emblem I’ve seen

Mural on large garage door in Fashion Street

You Are Enough by Neequaye Dreph Dsane

Summer Moon” by Ugo Rondinone

Commemorating Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of independence – 2021
Mohammed Ali Aerosol
Bob Marley

Fabulous mural by Benzi Brofman – an in demand Israeli graffiti artist – who paints murals world wide.

Doors and Knockers

Like many people I’ve always had a thing for doors and as we walked down Princelet Street, I wasn’t disappointed. On closer inspection I saw the intricate designs of the door knockers, they were so intriguing.

Princelet Street, Spitalfields is a quiet unassuming street and I didn’t think too much about it until I googled No. 4, The Red House. The street itself dates back to the 1700’s and the houses were occupied mainly by poorer Londoners and migrants fleeing religious persecution and other atrocities. In the early 18th century the street saw many occupants who worked for the famous Truman Brewery. Nowadays No. 4 is rented out for events and films. I found much of this information on a blog called Memoirs of a Metrogirl. It’s a most interesting read.

No. 4 Princelet Street
It doesn’t seem like it’s been painted since the 1700s, staying as authentic as it can.

All these houses are Grade II listed heritage houses and if you’re in the market for a move to London they sell for approximately £2,800,000. No. 18 looks like it could do with a new door.

By now it was almost time for dinner and Anthony had set his heart/stomach on a French restaurant he had found on Google. It was called Chez Elles. As per usual he ordered Deep fried Veal Sweetbread with gazpacho sauce and then the Steak tartare and for me it was French Onion Soup followed by Confit Duck. It was a great choice of restaurant, very quaint and decorated like an authentic French Bistro.

As we won’t be back to London for quite a while (I hope!) we had a grand day out, finding something for both of us. You can’t go wrong with a day out in London can you?

Joining in for Natalie’s Weekend Coffee and PPAC and of course Dan’s Thursday Doors which once again I’ve missed the deadline!

31 comments

  1. A wonderful photo collection, Ali. Looks like you had good weather for your day out in London. I think my favourites are the Gherkin building, the Bangladesh’s 50th anniversary of independence mural and No 4. Princelet Street. Thank you for your PPAC contribution. Happy Mother’s Day!

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    • Thanks Natalie, yes I love that mural too so striking. I would have loved to go into one of those houses but don’t think I could pull off being a serious buyer!

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  2. This is a wonderful overview, Ali. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the London skyline from the perspective of your photos. I absolutely love the heritage houses and doors! As a side note, the way you dressed up your sweatshirt with a scarf looks so stylish. I will have to remember to do that next winter. I hope you’re having a great weekend!

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  8. No, you can’t go wrong. We may live only 65 miles from it, and we may travel the world, but we love London and will never tire of going up town. Loved going up for work meetings, loved going for sightseeing, love just going up for beer and food. Will always love being in London. Great that you’ve had some good memory jerker visits this year, even though not in the best of circumstances.

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  9. A great day out in one of my favourite parts of London 🙂 I didn’t know about that Hilton bar and would love to visit some time, and Chez Elles is also a new one to me – we must check it out too!

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  10. Again an interesting time for
    you exploring. I have to go back to Brick Lane when I go back there in October.

    Are you back in Perth? Hope you had a great Mother’s Day my friend!

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