Lighting Up London! . . . Winter Lights at Canary Wharf and Lumiere in the city of London . . . Fortnum and Mason Delights

Lighting up London!

"Winter Lights" and "Lumiere London" were fantastic light festivals that brought art forms to life through lights.

Canary Wharf (the financial district where Mike's office at Barclays is located) featured sculptures and structures using different technologies to brighten up some winter evenings. Our favorites were a digital typography waterfall where words could be read in falling water droplets and displays that responded to mobile phone signals around them to make the lights change color.  So inventive!

"Lumiere," located throughout central London, transformed many of the capital's most iconic streets and buildings in the West End and King's Cross into colorful displays of vibrant hues and motion.  There were large-scale "video-mapped" projections and interactive pieces of light art.  We especially enjoyed the floating fish and lanterns, light tree, figure bounding up and down a building, and the painted-looking figures of saints on Westminster Cathedral.  Amazing artwork!

And the crowds to view it all were unbelievable; there was actually a time or two when we were merging into crossing streets to get to the next light feature and we were literally carried away in the crowd -- without our feet touching the ground for a few seconds.  Now that's being packed in -- just us and a few gazillion of our closest friends!  ;)

Fortnum and Mason Delights

Wandering into this sleek and beautifully appointed store is a slice of true British elegance-come-to-life.  Billed at the "most luxurious department store in the world," it was established in 1707 and features such things as specialty hampers (picnic baskets they fill with gourmet food items you've requested), an eye-popping confectionery boasting "splendid sweets," beautiful china dishware, tea and tea pots of every kind, and lovely gifts of all descriptions. 

There are also cupboards lined with posh jams, jellies & honeys, bouquets of flowers and gorgeous window displays.  Quite an experience!   A pretty tea room is also a treat, should you fancy getting a "cuppa" (i.e. cup of tea); it's also where Queen Elizabeth took tea during her Diamond Jubilee. (Their lemon curd and scones are to die for! . . . But I still miss Target!)