If it's Tuesday this must be the V&A

OK, I didn't actually go to the V&A on Tuesday.  I spent most of Tuesday in my new favourite building.  But the point is, I could have.

One of the nice things about this career-break / period of unemployment / venture into self-employment / new career as a lady who lunches (delete as appropriate) is having the chance to soak up some culture.

Last week I got to the National Gallery for the first time.  Quite how I have missed this for the last eight years is beyond me, especially given the amount of time I spend in or near Trafalgar Square (I'm a bit like a homing pigeon when it comes to that part of town, which is ironic given that Trafalgar Square is the absolute last place on earth a homing pigeon would be allowed to live these days.  But I digress.)

Anyway, my point is, the National Gallery is fabulous - full of lots of famous paintings which I had no idea were in London, all in an incredibly opulent building. Of all the treasures I stumbled across though, the most unexpected was  The Hoerengracht, which is on until February 21st.  Basically, one of the rooms has been tansformed to recreate Amsterdam's red light district*. Not quite what you expect in the middle of a stroll through Rembrants, Picassos and Rubens, but there it was.

The exhibition is on until February 21st, is free, and definitely worth a look, whatever your thoughts about the subject matter.  if for no other reason than to admire the attention to detail.  Plus, when I was there, for some reason they were playing Cheryl Cole's latest single in the background.  Which made me laugh.



*I've been to the actual red-light district, as it happens, which is a very long story involving one of my oldest and dearest friends and some very embarassed Japanese business men....and sadly one which we both swore never to speak of again.