While I technically spent closer to four days in London, I really only had three full days there. And what wonderful days they were too! I was apparently very lucky as the weather had turned (for the better) just before I arrived and remained sunny and warm for my entire stay. I was also fortunate enough to have been able to crash at a friend's condo in Canary Wharf. Sandra's building is right on the Thames and she has an amazing view...
The first day was spent walking along the south bank of the Thames, from Tower Bridge in the east to Westminster Bridge in the west. Right by London Bridge I stopped at Borough Market, behind Southwark Cathedral, where every stall had something tempting to try. In the end though, I decided to take Sandra's advice and got a chorizo sandwich from a store that specialized in Spanish products, and was not disappointed.
Continuing on, I poked my head into the Tate Modern. Modern art normally isn't my cup of tea, so I wasn't too surprised that the pieces that really caught my eye were the few that didn't fall into that category. Meredith Frampton's Marguerite Kelsey is just amazing in the way it captures the light. It's something you have to see in person to appreciate since no picture on a website can do it justice. I also really enjoyed Seydou Keïta's photo portraits.
Once on the north side of the river, I immediately headed for the TKTS booth on Leicester Square, where I managed to pick up a ticket for Rain Man. To keep myself occupied before the show started, I walked through the National Gallery. I just wish I hadn't gone through it chronologically. There are only so many biblical paintings I can take in at a time, and that's pretty much the only subject for much of history. A much better idea would have been to start in reverse, where (for me at least) the major attraction is: the Impressionist rooms with works by Van Gogh, Renoir, Gauguin, etc. And don't forget Seurat, one of my favorite painters in this school; I'm much more fascinated with pointillism than "true" impressionism.
As for Rain Man, I thought the play was pretty good. It followed the movie pretty closely with Josh Hartnet playing Tom Cruise's role and Adam Godley playing Dustin Hoffman's. Josh Hartnett was over-acting at times, but Adam Godley was dead on.
After the play, I managed to get a seat at The Ivy, supposedly one of London's favorite restaurants, where I had the richest shepherd's pie I've ever had. After the late dinner, I headed home. It'd been a long day and bed was calling...
Day two started off much slower and later. I left Canary Wharf a little after noon and took the ferry to Waterloo. On my way to The Ivy the night before I'd spotted L'Attelier de Joël Robuchon right next door and had made a lunch reservation there. I decided to sit at the bar, which surrounded the open kitchen, so I could watch them prepare my dishes. I started with an wonderful breaded and fried soft boiled egg on top a bed of raisins and pine nuts that was absolutely delicious. For my main course, I had lamb cutlets with fresh thyme that was good, if a little dry at parts. Finally, for desert, I had a Calvados warm souffle, cider vinegar panacotta and peanut ice cream trio.
After lunch, I headed to the British Museum and marveled at it's amazing Great Court as much as the exhibits on display. I was particularly amused at their side of the argument over the artifacts from the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, since I've been there and have heard their version as well.
When they finally kicked me out, I made my way to Picadilly Circus, where I hung out for a bit before heading to Kensington to meet Sandra and Pete for dinner with a few of their friends.
Day three was a Sunday, and I started by attending the Sung Eucharist at Westminster Abbey. The choir was wonderful, and I liked the rest of the service as well. I haven't been to a call and response service in a long time, and I liked the interactivity.
After that, it was a mad rush to get to the Globe Theatre on time to catch the matinee showing of Burial at Thebes, an opera based on Sophocles' Antigone. I couldn't leave London without watching something at the Globe, and this was my only choice as I'd missed the regular season. I thought I'd try something different and got standing tickets, which allowed me to get close to the stage, close enough to touch the actors! The opera itself was enjoyable. I think I definitely prefer it as an opera instead of a play.
After the opera, I headed to the Victoria & Albert Museum, which seems to be where they kept anything even remotely related to the decorative arts or design. It also turned out to be one of my favorite museums so far. It had a little bit of everything, but not so much that you got tired on any one subject. My favorite rooms were definitely the huge cast courts. Housing those casts indoors only emphasized how enormous those structures really are.
When the V&A closed, I headed to Hyde Park, strolled down the Serpentine and continued until I eventually ended up at Buckingham Palace. From there, I caught the Tube to meet Sandra and friends at The Narrow, a Gordon Ramsay pub. I tried the lamb liver and game pie appetizers (I'd missed lunch!), and for my main course had the braised ox cheeks and mashed neeps. The first two weren't terribly impressive, but the ox cheeks more than made up for it -- tender and succulent and delicious.
And that pretty much brought my whirlwind tour of London to a close. I wish I had more time to spend there and would love to go back.
