{"id":30071,"date":"2015-08-12T21:21:20","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T01:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=30071"},"modified":"2015-08-12T21:26:51","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T01:26:51","slug":"wanderlust-2015-london-bath-and-alexander-mcqueen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/wanderlust-2015-london-bath-and-alexander-mcqueen\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanderlust 2015: London, Bath and Alexander McQueen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m in need of a vacation &#8230; from the vacation I just took. MrB and I like to spend our off-time in other cities, especially London and Paris. We wind up dashing from dinners with friends to the theater, <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/wanderlust-2014-anne-boleyn-and-eminem-in-london\/\" target=\"_blank\">from the theater to concerts<\/a>, from concerts to museums. Last year, <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/wanderlust-2014-my-first-but-not-last-trip-to-greece\/\" target=\"_blank\">we got in some relaxation on Greek beaches after all the urban activity<\/a>. This year, we missed the restful part, so now I&#8217;m back home, feeling like I need to go some place peaceful. Calgon, take me away!<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sNgZFxAnKtA\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>I did love every crazy minute of it. Our first appointment in London, on Wednesday, July 29, was with my gorgeous blogger friends <a href=\"http:\/\/twistedskirt.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kate<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/thatsnotmyage.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Aly<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/emmapeelpants.wordpress.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Liz<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinestylography.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Margaret<\/a>. (We really missed you, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thriftmystyle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sharon<\/a>!) I&#8217;ve been meeting up with bloggers in London since <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/london-day-3-in-mrs-stings-closet\/\" target=\"_blank\">2008<\/a>. We (or I) like to drink <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/pimms-fest-2013-and-other-london-adventures\/\" target=\"_blank\">Pimm&#8217;s<\/a>, but it&#8217;s getting harder to find at the places where it&#8217;s convenient for all of us to meet. We settled for ros\u00e9 wine, tapas and Nutella dessert pizza at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.polpo.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Polpo<\/a> in Covent Garden this time.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30074\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30074\" class=\"wp-image-30074 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bloggerfriendslondon2015resize.jpg\" alt=\"bloggerfriendslondon2015resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"463\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bloggerfriendslondon2015resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bloggerfriendslondon2015resize-300x279.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30074\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Me, Kate, Aly and Liz. Margaret had to leave early.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Agnes B bag I&#8217;m holding in the photo contains my autographed copy of Aly&#8217;s adorable new book,<em> Style Forever<\/em>. I&#8217;m looking forward to throwing her a book party in New York this fall, when the official American edition comes out. But you can already buy <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Style-Forever-Grown-Up-Looking-Fabulous\/dp\/1784880000\" target=\"_blank\">the English version on Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30078\" style=\"width: 485px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Style-Forever-Grown-Up-Looking-Fabulous\/dp\/1784880000\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30078\" class=\"wp-image-30078 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/book.jpg\" alt=\"book\" width=\"475\" height=\"633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/book.jpg 475w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/book-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/book-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30078\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to purchase. It makes a great gift!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The ladies tried on my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Full%252dFinger-Hinged-Barbed-Wire-Ring-%252d-Gold\" target=\"_blank\">18K gold, full-finger, barbed wire ring<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30080\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30080\" class=\"wp-image-30080 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonrings.jpg\" alt=\"londonrings\" width=\"498\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonrings.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonrings-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonrings-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30080\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kate being sassy; Aly being shy.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>It looks so good next to Liz&#8217;s own ring!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30082\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30082\" class=\"wp-image-30082 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonringliz.jpg\" alt=\"londonringliz\" width=\"498\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonringliz.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonringliz-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonringliz-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30082\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nice manicure too!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I went back to Covent Garden the next day to make my regular stop at the store <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/wanderlust-2014-anne-boleyn-and-eminem-in-london\/\" target=\"_blank\">Opening Ceremony<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30079\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30079\" class=\"wp-image-30079\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2015-07-30-15.57.53.jpg\" alt=\"2015-07-30 15.57.53\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2015-07-30-15.57.53.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2015-07-30-15.57.53-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2015-07-30-15.57.53-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/2015-07-30-15.57.53-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30079\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Seen on the way to Opening Ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There&#8217;s an Opening Ceremony in New York, but I only seem to go to the one in London, where I <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/lug-sole-shoes-are-finally-mine\/\" target=\"_blank\">buy lug-soled shoes<\/a>. This time, I found an empty storefront for rent. Noooo! I kept staring at the space, waiting for my store to reappear. When that didn&#8217;t happen, I took out my phone to figure out a new plan, and I saw this tweet.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30084\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks.jpg\" alt=\"bunnysneaks\" width=\"355\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks.jpg 355w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks-300x270.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I thought, &#8220;Hmmm. Sneakers with bunny ears,&#8221; and looked up where they were sold. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.harveynichols.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Harvey Nichols<\/a>. I grabbed MrB and ran off to Harvey Nicks. Voil\u00e0!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30085\" style=\"width: 485px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30085\" class=\"wp-image-30085 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks2.jpg\" alt=\"bunnysneaks2\" width=\"475\" height=\"633\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks2.jpg 475w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bunnysneaks2-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30085\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">I don&#8217;t like wearing white sneakers. #allblackeverything<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As a bonus, the upstairs bar at Harvey Nicks makes a good Pimm&#8217;s Cup.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30086\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Full%252dFinger-Hinged-Barbed-Wire-Ring-%252d-Platinum\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30086\" class=\"wp-image-30086\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonpimms.jpg\" alt=\"londonpimms\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonpimms.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonpimms-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonpimms-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonpimms-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30086\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pimm&#8217;s and rings at Harvey Nicks. That&#8217;s the platinum version of the full-finger barbed wire design on my middle finger.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On Friday, we wangled tickets to one of the final days of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.vam.ac.uk\/content\/exhibitions\/exhibition-alexander-mcqueen-savage-beauty\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty<\/em> exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum<\/a>. The exhibit was being kept open 24 hours a day due to demand, so, as a night owl, I was hoping to get some crazy 2 a.m. tickets, but ours were for the civilized hour of 3:15 p.m.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30087\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30087\" class=\"wp-image-30087\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonmcqueen.jpg\" alt=\"londonmcqueen\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonmcqueen.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonmcqueen-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonmcqueen-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonmcqueen-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wearing my platinum and diamond thumb ring a lot lately. But it&#8217;s really a wedding-ring design!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I missed this McQueen exhibit when it was at the <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.metmuseum.org\/alexandermcqueen\/\" target=\"_blank\">Metropolitan Museum of New York in 2011<\/a>, but it still changed my life. I had procrastinated about going till the final weeks,\u00a0when there were three-hour lines to get in. It was August and there&#8217;s no shade in front of the Metropolitan Museum and I was just like, &#8220;Nope. Not waiting in the sun for hours.&#8221; Then I started to feel regret, but it was too late: I was going out of town for the last couple of days of the exhibit. I was headed to Chicago for Lollapalooza and I was so annoyed with myself for refusing to wait a few hours for an interesting McQueen experience that <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/we-survived-eminem-at-lollapalooza\/\" target=\"_blank\">I overcompensated by waiting 9 1\/2 hours to see Eminem from the third row<\/a>. Since then, I&#8217;ve become an expert on waiting anywhere from <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/musical-interlude-marina-bjork-and-lana-del-rey\/\" target=\"_blank\">eight to<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/throwback-thursday-global-citizen-festival\/\" target=\"_blank\">12 <\/a>hours to be in the first couple of rows at concerts big and <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/concert-for-valor-fka-twigs-and-other-music-news\/\" target=\"_blank\">small<\/a>. I owe it all to McQueen. And, now I&#8217;ve finally seen the exhibit, so I feel complete.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30093\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30093\" class=\"wp-image-30093 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/complete.jpg\" alt=\"complete\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/complete.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/complete-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/complete-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30093\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is how I feel.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>On Saturday, MrB and I did something else that we never got around to in New York: seeing <em>Miss Saigon<\/em>. The musical &#8212; set during the Vietnam war and inspired by the opera <em>Madame Butterfly<\/em> with a whole lot of <em>Cabaret<\/em>&#8216;s Emcee thrown in &#8212; played on Broadway from 1991 to 2001. Over four thousand performances, and I didn&#8217;t catch a single one! In this case, I wasn&#8217;t very interested during the original run. I had heard the music and it didn&#8217;t do anything for me. But, because London theater was experiencing an August lull and nothing else intrigued us, we figured we&#8217;d check out <em>Miss Saigon<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30097\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30097\" class=\"wp-image-30097\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ms-logo.jpg\" alt=\"Print\" width=\"498\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ms-logo.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ms-logo-279x300.jpg 279w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ms-logo-952x1024.jpg 952w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/ms-logo-300x323.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30097\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oh, okay, because you twisted my arm. I&#8217;ll see it.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The actors were stellar, the singing was superb, the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/last-helicopter-evacuating-saigon-321254\" target=\"_blank\">helicopter-evacuation<\/a> special effect was impressive. The book and songs were &#8220;meh,&#8221; and, seriously, the character of the Engineer WAS the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cabaret_%28musical%29\" target=\"_blank\">Emcee<\/a>. I feel very strongly about <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/what-wendy-wore-zang-toi-and-garters-to-cabaret\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Cabaret<\/em><\/a>, and disapprove of anyone trying to bite its style. That said, we were entertained for the afternoon before we ran off to meet gorgeous jewelry blogger Monica Stephenson of <a href=\"http:\/\/idazzle.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">iDazzle<\/a>. I had seen Monica five days before at the <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/what-wendy-wore-double-vintage-to-the-wja-gala\/\" target=\"_blank\">Women&#8217;s Jewelry Association&#8217;s 2015 Awards for Excellence Gala in New York<\/a>, where Monica won the award for <a href=\"http:\/\/idazzle.com\/2015\/08\/05\/womens-jewelry-association-awards-for-excellence-2015\/\" target=\"_blank\">excellence in editorial media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30099\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/idazzle.com\/2015\/08\/05\/womens-jewelry-association-awards-for-excellence-2015\/\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30099\" class=\"wp-image-30099\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/WJA_11224447_525297817619158_697280809088727873_o-e1438810531909.jpg\" alt=\"WJA_11224447_525297817619158_697280809088727873_o-e1438810531909\" width=\"498\" height=\"826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/WJA_11224447_525297817619158_697280809088727873_o-e1438810531909.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/WJA_11224447_525297817619158_697280809088727873_o-e1438810531909-181x300.jpg 181w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/WJA_11224447_525297817619158_697280809088727873_o-e1438810531909-300x497.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getting all black and white at the WJA gala. From left: Monica, our gorgeous friend Barbara Palumbo, and me.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That night, she mentioned to me that her family was leaving for London the next day. &#8220;So am I,&#8221; I said. &#8220;We&#8217;re on the 7 p.m. Delta flight,&#8221; Monica replied. &#8220;So am I,&#8221; I said.\u00a0 We got to say hi to each other on the plane and later made arrangements to have dinner at the River Cafe, next to the Thames.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30100\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30100\" class=\"wp-image-30100\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonthames.jpg\" alt=\"londonthames\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonthames.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonthames-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonthames-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londonthames-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30100\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">It makes sense to find a place called the River Cafe next to a river.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>During dinner, guess what Monica did? She tried on that full-finger barbed wire ring! Everybody tries on the barbed wire ring. This is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/store\/products.php?product=Full%252dFinger-Hinged-Barbed-Wire-Ring-%252d-Platinum\" target=\"_blank\">the platinum version<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30102\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/p\/522UVQm5PA\/?taken-by=idazzle\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30102\" class=\"wp-image-30102 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/monicarings.jpg\" alt=\"monicarings\" width=\"498\" height=\"498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/monicarings.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/monicarings-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/monicarings-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30102\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From Monica&#8217;s Instagram. Click for source.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We had a wonderful time with Monica, her husband, two kids and her mother. Here&#8217;s what I wore.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-30103\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londondress2015resize.jpg\" alt=\"londondress2015resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"1022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londondress2015resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londondress2015resize-146x300.jpg 146w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/londondress2015resize-300x616.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><strong>What Wendy Wore<\/strong><br \/>\n<em><strong>Dress:<\/strong> David Dalrymple for Patricia Field (2015; note the <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2013\/07\/throwback-thursday-madonna-and-her-keith-haring-denim-jacket\/\" target=\"_blank\">Keith Haring<\/a> print!)<\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Belt:<\/strong> Patricia Field (2015)<\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Shoes:<\/strong> Onex (2015. Gift from Mom. Thanks, Mom!)<\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Jewelry:<\/strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\" target=\"_blank\">My own designs, as always<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>On our final full day in England &#8212; Sunday, August 2 &#8212; we followed suggestions to visit Bath, the spa town frequently mentioned by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.janeausten.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Jane Austen<\/a>. The lesson I learned from Alexander McQueen and the Metropolitan Museum came in handy once again.\u00a0 There was construction on the train line that runs from London to Bath, and one train employee warned us that it would take three hours to get there. MrB and I were off to a late start, as usual, and three hours there and three hours back seemed like an ordeal. Then again, three hours was the expected wait time for the McQueen exhibit in New York. I realized the weather was beautiful, we had nowhere else urgent to be &#8212; having, in addition to all the above activities, already squeezed in separate dinners with two journalist friends and my Ossie Clark friend, <a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2008\/07\/london-day-2-wizard-of-ossie\/\" target=\"_blank\">Al Radley<\/a> &#8212; and why not go to Bath? I am a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Wife_of_Bath's_Tale\" target=\"_blank\">big fan of Chaucer, after all<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30105\" style=\"width: 330px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Wife_of_Bath's_Tale\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30105\" class=\"wp-image-30105 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bathbadge.jpg\" alt=\"bathbadge\" width=\"320\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bathbadge.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bathbadge-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bathbadge-300x393.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30105\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A souvenir. Click if you don&#8217;t know who the Wife of Bath is.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The train took 2 hours and 15 minutes. Not bad.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30104\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30104\" class=\"wp-image-30104 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath1resize.jpg\" alt=\"bath1resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath1resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath1resize-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath1resize-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30104\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the abbey at Bath.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bath is named for the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roman_Baths_%28Bath%29\" target=\"_blank\">Roman baths<\/a> built around its natural hot springs, though ancient Celts and Britons also made use of the springs before the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Roman_conquest_of_Britain\" target=\"_blank\">Roman invasion that started in AD 43<\/a>. The site has been excavated and is quite fascinating.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30108\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30108\" class=\"wp-image-30108 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath3resize.jpg\" alt=\"bath3resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath3resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath3resize-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath3resize-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30108\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The baths at Bath.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Roman bath complex included a temple, and curse tablets are among the artifacts that have been discovered at the site. People inscribed their prayers for vengeance on lead alloy. I appreciated the one translated in the upper right corner of the photo below for the <span class=\"st\">specificity and severity of the requested punishment.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30109\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30109\" class=\"wp-image-30109\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6.jpg\" alt=\"bath6\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6.jpg 2448w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath6-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30109\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to enlarge. Also, I didn&#8217;t even notice the reference to dyslexia in the upper left corner until I looked at this photo.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>That&#8217;s what you get for stealing gloves. You&#8217;ll lose your mind and your eyes. Consider yourself warned.<\/p>\n<p>The architecture in Bath is beautiful and benefits from the golden glow of the local Bath stone.\u00a0 The whole city is a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/World_Heritage_Site\" target=\"_blank\">World Heritage Site<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30111\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Royal_Crescent\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30111\" class=\"wp-image-30111 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath5crescent.jpg\" alt=\"bath5crescent\" width=\"498\" height=\"332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath5crescent.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath5crescent-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-30111\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Royal Crescent in Bath.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Before we took a bus tour with a sassy narrator, we stopped by one of the oldest houses in Bath, occupied by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sallylunns.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Sally Lunn&#8217;s Historic Eating House<\/a>, to get one of the famous Sally Lunn buns. You can&#8217;t go to Bath without getting a Sally Lunn bun. The place was packed so we got a bun to go.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30112\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30112\" class=\"wp-image-30112 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath8resize.jpg\" alt=\"bath8resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath8resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath8resize-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath8resize-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30112\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MrB holds the bun box in Bath&#8217;s square.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>MrB said, &#8220;I could fit four hamburger patties on this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_30113\" style=\"width: 508px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30113\" class=\"wp-image-30113 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath9resize.jpg\" alt=\"bath9resize\" width=\"498\" height=\"664\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath9resize.jpg 498w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath9resize-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/bath9resize-300x400.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 498px) 100vw, 498px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-30113\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The photo doesn&#8217;t do justice to the size of this thing.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We returned to London that night from Bath and the next day we headed to Paris. (That will be my next post.) But before getting on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eurostar.com\/us-en\" target=\"_blank\">Eurostar<\/a>, we had our not-three-hour train ride back to London, during which we decided that we had enjoyed Bath so much that we want to return. My hope for next year is to go to nearby <a href=\"http:\/\/www.english-heritage.org.uk\/visit\/places\/stonehenge\/\" target=\"_blank\">Stonehenge <\/a>first<a href=\"http:\/\/www.english-heritage.org.uk\/visit\/places\/stonehenge\/\" target=\"_blank\">.<\/a> Then we&#8217;d go to Bath&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thermaebathspa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Thermae Bath Spa<\/a> to &#8220;take the waters&#8221; like the Romans and Austen&#8217;s crowd; have a torchlit dinner at the <a href=\"http:\/\/visitbath.co.uk\/whats-on\/the-roman-baths-by-torchlight-p68941\" target=\"_blank\">Roman baths<\/a>; and stay overnight at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.royalcrescent.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Royal Crescent Hotel<\/a>. I wouldn&#8217;t have this great plan if I&#8217;d let the gloomy train employee discourage us from going, and, again, my willingness to invest the time is due to the 2011 McQueen incident. Missing McQueen at the Metropolitan Museum is my own personal version of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Butterfly_effect\" target=\"_blank\">butterfly effect<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p> <\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m in need of a vacation &#8230; from the vacation I just took. MrB and I like to spend our off-time in other cities, especially London and Paris. We wind up dashing from dinners with friends to the theater, from the theater to concerts, from concerts to museums. Last year, we got in some relaxation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/wanderlust-2015-london-bath-and-alexander-mcqueen\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[65,440,277,41,108,9,497],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-designers","category-museums","category-outfit-post","category-pictures-of-me","category-theater","category-travel","category-what-wendy-wore","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30071"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30129,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30071\/revisions\/30129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}