Day 256/365: Day Off in London

I have a few extra days of annual leave left over at the end of this financial year and I need to use them before the end of March. In the past, these days have been an excellent opportunity to spend some much needed time alone and to reconnect with the things that are important to me - to feel myself again. However, I have been lucky in that I have had a few of those days recently. I have enjoyed a couple of museum trips and I have a few more in mind for the near future. I still have my  cold and I really wasn't feeling up to anything cultural, emotive or thought provoking. In the end I chose to go shopping in London. I feel so happy and at home in London. I really do miss living there. 

I had a lovely Vietnamese soup for lunch and enjoyed taking pictures of it while it was cooling. I sort of had a story in mind to fit with the Reality  theme for the 52, but I'm not going to bother with that. I am so over looking bonkers taking pictures in public. This is a good thing - I think. I read in a book somewhere that food looks much more appetising if you lean towards the warmer side of white balance. It made the point that we are programmed to feel disgusted by green tinted food.  

I visited Selfridges, one of my favourite department stores. 

It is such a beautiful building, inside and out. I brought my 50mm for ease and felt a little frustrated by how little I could fit into the frame. I did a lot of walking about to get this shot. I spent a bit more time looking at the effects of sharpening these photos. Again, you notice the difference so much more with buildings than with people. 

I spent a lot of time, and a small fortune, in the Disney store. I was looking for a particular doll from the upcoming Cinderella movie but I could easily have walked out with half the store. There were so many amazing things in there. Bear would have loved everything. We are so ripe for our first trip to Disneyland Paris. I hope that we get to go soon. I also got some new towels for the kids as Roo has demanded a "more age appropriate towel". It seems that he has outgrown the cute little boy pirate towel his grandmother bought him a few years ago. Sniff! 

There was a lot of hype about the new Cinderella movie. It turned out that the UK premiere is in London tonight. There was lots of preparation and excitement going on when I passed through Leicester Square on the way home. I am really looking forward to this movie. 

So there we have it. I am off next Thursday too. Perhaps I will feel up to something a bit more stimulating then. I need this pesky cold to move on first.