So... my day today included:
-A stroll in St. James' park and some close encounters with Eurasian Coots and other foreign fowl, some very fat and tame squirrels, and the tourists who were taking pictures of them.
-Seeing Buckinham Palace and the changing of the guards, all of whom were dressed like the Wicked Witch's guards from the Wizard of Oz: the whole thing involved a lot of nonsensical stamping and yelling and pacing up and down and brass bands... bureaucracy made visual, pretty much. Oh, and yes, the hats were very large and fuzzy.
-Buying a ticket for a show this evening at the ICA and, since I was there, it was warm, and it didn't cost anything, seeing a short art documentary on Japanese bondage.
-Having lunch in Trafalger Square, where you're not supposed to feed the pigeons. :(
-Strolling along the Thames and being completely awed by the London Eye, Westminster Abbey, and especially the Houses of Parliament: they're just so gosh-darn BIG!!!! There's this part called the Royal Gate or something (it's really a ridiculously ornate tower with a gate in it), and you literally have to look straight up to see the top, and then the clouds moving makes it seem like it's falling toward you... I pretty much would have immediately sworn allegiance to whoever came out of that thing.
-Wandering along some back alleys, finding both the Royal Courts of Justice and the tiny shop that makes the silly wigs the lawyers and judges wear, getting lost and catching a bus back to Trafalger Square.
-Stopping in at the National Gallery (for free!), watching another short documentary, this time about the Impressionists, and getting entranced by this painting (like I literally stood in front of it for about fifteen minutes): http://www.mystudios.com/rembrandt/works/rembrandt-sp-1640.jpg , and also seeing some Turner, which we'll be doing in class tomorrow.
-Having a lovely dinner at a little Indian restaurant off Trafalger Square, where a guy and his date sat next to me, and I was almost certain that the guy was a celebrity (he looked really familiar). They were talking really fast in French, but I'm almost positive that they said stuff like, "Do you think she (me) knows who I am?" "I don't think so, she's American." "Oh good." Not sure, of course, and I certainly wasn't going to ask. But still possibly exciting!
-Randomly meeting up with a bunch of LISPA folks (including Janice!) at the show I'd bought a ticket for earlier, which was a really crazy play by the Russian company Akye, based on the story of Faust: it involved lots of bells and whistles and sound effects and cigarettes and paint and shadows and puppets and awesomeness.
-Coming home to find that someone had left me a candy bar (presumably to thank me for having fixed the washer/dryer on Friday), but a fruit and nut candy bar, which means that I couldn't eat it, so I gave it to Jill.
Whew! Time for bed. :)
3 comments:
Great day! Reminds me of our week after Christmas. And I agree about the astounding architecture of the Abbey and the Houses. The Abbey is worth paying to see on the inside, I think, and entry comes with a free audioguide which helps focus your visit and make it a little less overwhelming.
Do you have a nut or fruit allergy I didn't know about? Or is it a matter of taste?
Thanks for posting about your life in London. I'm really enjoying reading it.
That's really interesting! We all did some sightseeing back in 2000, though I don't recall walking around that central area.
did i miss the part where you were allergic to fruit or nuts?
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