The Van Gogh exhibition paintings.....

Painting expedition and trouble with buses!!

Today we got up super dooper early because we HAD to get an early bus somewhere....

....but we got to the bus stop three minutes late and missed the bus!!!

So we raced up the road to Hove train station (instead of going from Brighton) and found that there was another train going where we want to go, leaving in a few minutes!!!

So we got on that instead!!!

We left them a CD.

We like this bit!

And we got off here at the very last stop!!

It's London Bridge Station!!

Then we whizzed over to the bus stop on the bridge.

BUS BINGO ALERT!!  We got the number 17!!

they got a floppy disc.

And we're off!!!

We got off here at St Pauls Cathedral because we're getting another bus.

A few minutes later they started the bell ringing!!

Right now, which way is the bus stop?

Over here!!!

Opposite that church!

BUS BINGO ALERT!!!  We got the number 8!!

They got another CD!

Wonder where we're going today.....

We got off at the very last stop and luckily Andrea knew where we're going today.  Makes a change.... anyway, we found another manhole cover!!

We went down Charing Cross Road

Past the Banksy gallery, which apparently got robbed recently.

We went past Chinatown.

Past the National Portrait Gallery

And we came here to the National Gallery!!!  There's a big expedition on!!

There's also the London Half Marathon on too, which skirted round the Trafalgar Square bit with the fountains and Nelson's Column, which becomes important a little later on......!

It's the Van Gogh expedition and it's sold out until the end of November already!!

There was a bit of a bottle neck at the entrance because everyone had to have their bags checked - apparently some "Just Oil" protesters came to this expedition last week and threw orange paint over one of the paintings..... so they have to make sure nobody else is bringing orange paint with them.

Anyway, we've got to go up there.

There's the entrance, over there!!!  How exciting!!!

OH WOW!!!  There were loads of paintings in here including a lot we hadn't seen before.

Like these drawings....

And this painting

We're making a separate post with all the pictures we took.

But these are just a few of them.....

We spent ages in there looking around and then we had a look round TWO gift shops!!! (we'll show you later!)

By now, we were all starving hungry so we headed off for an early lunch.

We left a floppy disc on the railings here!!!

Then we walked back up Charing Cross Road, back the way we came.

And decided on here, Gordon Ramsay's Street Burger!!

We got a fizzy drink in....... and hoping we get our favourite bhaji burger!!!

WHAT???  What's THAT???!!  Turns out they've revamped the menu in here and they DON'T HAVE BHAJI BURGERS ANY MORE!!!  They have a Tandoori Paneer burger as the vegetarian option now, paneer being "Indian Cottage cheese".  A big square chunk of it?? 

OK, this is a bit weird...... we ate two thirds of it, we're not sure we like it.  The Koffman fries are still excellent, but Tandoor Paneer burger??  MMmmmm..... nope.

We used the facilities downstairs and left them a floppy disc.

And then made our back upstairs to ground level!

And then we wandered off to a bus stop.  Now, we WERE going to ride the number 8 end to end, but that one's stopping short of the final stop so no point.  Then we thought we'd ride the number 29 end to end but those buses aren't going down Charing Cross Road because of the half marathon road closures.  

So we then thought we'd get the 38 along to Fortnums but they're only going as far as Piccadilly Circus, presumably because of half marathon road closures/diversions.

SOOOO..... we then walked up to Tottenham Court Road past the Dominion Theatre.....

 

....up to this bus stop here.....

BUS BINGO ALERT!!  We got the 390 bus!!!

We left a floppy disc on this bus!

And we're off!!

Oooo there's an art deco building there, on the corner of University Street, wonder if Sandy Bear has that one on his map?

We didn't want to go home just yet so we stayed on the bus going up to north London

We like mystery bus trips!!

And we got off here just before the end of route!

Oh!!  A public phone with a chair!  Who can we phone up??

Oh, that's interesting!  What is it?

Hmm, they got a website too....

Oh wow, that's interesting!!

Then we walked down to this bus stop to get the bus back

Yep, another 390 bus!!

They got a CD!

Very residential round here....

Oh!!!  It's a ghost station!!

Wonder if they're going to turn the old building into something else?

Ooo that's pretty brick work!

That's Regents Canal!!  There looks to be a staircase that goes down to the canal, so you can walk along it looking at the houseboats!!

And we finally got back here!!! 

We're knackered, let's go home!

OOO  Fortnums! 

Let's go in!!!!  (we'll show you later!)

we saw a taxi in another shop!!

We used the facilities and left them a CD, and washed our paws carefully.

Then we went down to the platform and our train was already there waiting for us!!!  HURRAH!!

We left them a light card.....

We came through Blackfriars Station.....

And then went through towards London Bridge Station

It's an interesting train ride, this is....

And finally we got back home!!!

We had a short wait for our bus, though.....

And got off here!

We got the exhibition book from the National Gallery

And some postcards.

And some badges!!!

And some pin badges..... we'll make those bingo prizes.

And we got coffee and bis kwits from Fortnums..... yum!!

What a fun day!