stevenlavigne

Make sure you have your Passport to Pimlico (Joke: that's the title of a delightful Ealing Studio comedy). It's a bit of a hike from the Tube to the museum, but worth it. The permanent collection is outstanding and the last exhibit I saw there was on the Pre-Raphaelites and was marvelous. Don't miss this one!

There are so many treasures here! The first time I was there, I saw an exhibit on Children's writers titled from Beatrix Potter to Harry Potter. I love wandering through the galleries and visiting so many greats: Gilbert and Sullivan, Jane Austen, The Brontes, Charles Dickens, Anna Neagle and others. The room that honors Queen Victoria is a highlight! There's nothing quite like the National Portrait Gallery.

Magnificent! A lovely way to spend an afternoon. We were there right after George Michael, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher had passed on. We enjoyed seeing the graves of Karl Marx, Anthony Shaffer, Malcolm McLaren, Ralph Richardson, George Eliot, Douglas Adams and so many more. Go in the warmer weather, because the hilly side of the cemetery is only open for funerals in the winter.

I tried to get tickets for Follies, Peter Pan and a play starring Charlotte Rampling, but there were none available. Still, it's a beautiful building and has a fantastic bookshop!

Not easy to get tickets. Order them online. Audience sits on long padded benches. I saw The Chalk Garden with Penelope Wilton and the late Margaret Tyzek. I tried to get tickets for Mary Stuart with Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter, but it was sold out. I managed to see it later on Broadway. Great theater!

There are lots of tourists, but to see the final resting places of Queen Elizabeth I, Cromwell and Mary, Queen of Scots as well as Poet's Corner and the beautiful tribute to Churchill is a fascinating, especially if you're a cemetery visitor.

There are two museums in London that are on equal footing: The Victoria and Albert and the National Portrait Gallery. The V&A has a dazzling fashion museum, which often has fascinating special exhibits. I saw a terrific show on The Supremes, and another on Princess Diana. The theater exhibits are lovely, especially the one on Diaghilev and Nijinsky. The sculpture hall is beautiful, as is the gridwork on the second floor. The best exhibit I ever saw there was on the 1960s. Pieces from collections of The Beatles, Mary Quant, Twiggy, The Who and a room full of costumes, instruments and artifacts from Woodstock were on display. Great Museum!

This is a sensory overload museum, but also fantastic. Most of the Pantheon has been moved from Rome to the British Museum, and of course, the Rosetta Stone is there. I saw a superb exhibit on Hadrian here, as well as an exhibit of sketch art by gay artists like Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton, which was superb.

Sensational museum and I love how it's expanded. This is an old lightbulb factory and I've seen two exhibits here: one on Frida Kahlo and one which was Elton John's photography collection. Both are marvelous. Quirky shop and decent coffee shop.

I was in here with my friend one night and found myself caught up in a conversation with a bunch of young gay guys who wanted advice about dildos. And I gave it to them! I'm no expert, but I know what I like and I know how to play with toys and not get hurt. It was a lot of fun.

What can I say? This is where I like to get my socks, because they have elastic around the foot and are so comfortable. The food is decent if you're in a hurry as well.

I used to love to come here for a quiet respite from the city. You could sit in the basement coffee shop and read magazines. That's gone, but the new coffee shop is just as good. The sales at Waterstone's are the best, too.

It's also Tacky. It's fun to walk through Harrod's and see the design of the building. The food halls are incredible. The tribute to Dodi Fayad and Princess Diana in the basement is interesting, too.

I have to agree, the best bookstore in London, and they seem to have everything. Nice coffee shop, too.

With the loss of Virgin and HMV, this is the best place to shop for CDs, DVDs and other items. You will need an international player for your DVD player, but you can get things for a few pounds. I got Die Hard, A Monster Calls and Local Hero for a L3 each!

As far as I'm concerned, this is THE place for Tea in London. Been there twice, once for afternoon tea, and once for High Tea. It's so lovely. Enjoy yourself, cough up the price and pretend to be posh!

I went here one night in the summer 2005, and haven't had the opportunity to go back, but I would love to. The building itself is fascinating. It's underneath Waterloo Station and down the street from the Old Vic Theater. I had a nice time in the steamroom with one man, and in a private room had a lovely time with an Asian man who wanted to spend more time with me (Alas, I was on my way to Scotland, or I'd have taken him up on the offer.) The hot tub was incredible, because there are rollers you can relax your back on. I loved it!

A jewel is definitely the word for this beautiful cinema. The last time I was there, I saw Mary Poppins Returns, but I've been there several times and have seen a variety of films here. Fantastic!

A beautiful building and an acoustically perfect auditorium are two features of De Nederlandse Opera. I've seen five productions there. The first two, Britten's Peter Grimes and Handel's Samson, were brilliant. The next two were, Strauss's Daphne and a German opera based on Dionysus, were not. I was excited to see La Boheme last time I was there, because I was going to see an Italian Mimi, but sadly, it wasn't a good production. They moved it to the 1990s, with cell phones and plastic water bottles. The third act, which has the audience in tears at the Met, was minimized and not especially good. The Rodolfo and Musetta were marvelous, but it was a disappointment. Don't let my negative comments deter your visit. I still love going to this remarkable place!

This is an extraordinary experience. I've done it three times and can't do it again. I can't put myself through the emotional reactions again. It's not easy to get into now. Later in the day, I understand, is better. However, you do walk through the swinging bookcase and climb the stairs to the kitchen, Anne and Dr. Dussel's room, you see the rotted W.C. and the attic where Anne and Peter were found. The modern museum next to the original house has footage from the documentary made about 30 years ago, and copies of the diaries in three languages. The thing that's most remarkable is that everything is exactly the way it was described in her writing.

The majority of Van Gogh's works have never left the Netherlands, and this is where they are now housed. Designed by Gerritt Reitveld, this building allows the natural light to flow inside as the great works are beautifully displayed as they should be. The earlier, darker works from his time in the mines is there, as are the self-portraits and pieces from his Asian Period, his Pointallism Period, and those magnificent pieces as his illnesses and troubles affected his works. Order your tickets online, because they are timed. Also, this way, you avoid the crowds. Nice coffee shop and a decent gift shop as well.

A World Class Museum. The first couple of times I visited the Rijksmuseum, I thought it was a dump. Stuff was put on the wall with what seemed like little curation. The place was closed for ten years, and what a miracle those ten years created! The building has been redesigned, open to the natural light, and the works are spread out in period, and with room to breathe. The Night Watch, for example, was stuffed against other pieces, and now lives in a room by itself, where it can vibrate. Do not miss the Delft Collection or the De Stijl pieces. This is a museum to be proud of!

For me, the key to a good bathhouse is the hot tub and this is one of the nicest. By the time I get to there, I'm pretty tired, so I head there to relax. The last time I was there, I met a really sweet German guy and we had fun together. A little later I met a nice Asian man for some more fun. I spent a lot of time in the steam room once, and had a line of guys waiting for me to give them some oral pleasure. This is a really nice place!!

This is a World Class Museum, which gives you aspects of the way the Icelandic people have survived for centuries. Artifacts aplenty, and the room full of silver pieces is magnificent. The souvenir shop and cafe are every bit as good. One of the great history museums of the world. After you visit this, visit the beautiful cemetery a few blocks from it, and don't miss Reykjavik 871, another superb museum!

This is the cheesy equivalent of the Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Copenhagen, but it's much better, because the history of the country is presented very vividly and it's superb. It's a bit of a hike off the beaten path, but worth it for a fun afternoon's visit.

The first day I explored Reyjavik, this was the first place I went to eat, and it was marvelous! I was there at lunchtime and it wasn't crowded at all. This is terrific!

The products sold in the Blue Lagoon Shop are marvelous. Body Lotions, Facial Scrubs, all worth getting and using. If you care about your skin, this is the place to find things!

A Pleasant Surprise

Having heard that this place was a dump, I went thinking that if it was horrible I could leave. I was very pleasantly surprised to find a very clean and pleasant environment and had a good time. While some of the men were rude, many were quite nice. I played with three hot guys, and there are plenty of places for action: sauna, steam room, four or five porn theatres, individual cabins. If I ever come back to Copenhagen, I'll definitely visit again, but probably not on a Tuesday afternoon.