London Day 2

 

Thursday

4/18

1030am Kusama at Tate Modern, (in apple wallet) Borough Market (10am-5pm), Southwark Cathedral (8am-5pm), cross London Bridge, Monument to the Great Fire of London (daily 930-1300; 1400-1800), hit some pubs   -We slept pretty well at Palmer St. Bed still not as comfortable as Emma’s. I wish I could buy her mattress! -I bought advance tickets for the Kumana Infinity Rooms exhibition at the Tate Modern. Our time was 1030am. About 30 minutes to get there by Tube. -We’d been to Tate Modern once before and didn’t love it particularly. This time, we were impressed by the building itself and how many stories of exhibitions it houses. We only saw the Kusama, though, which was very impressive and interesting. -There are only 2 infinity rooms--one small one with a chandelier and the bigger one with lights that change colors. Very  cool. We went into that one twice. Her story was also told in pictures and text. Glad we got to see this as it ends soon. Bought a few things in the souvenir shop. -Husband routed us over to Borough Market and it was teeming with people. Seemed both locals and tourists. Lots of stalls open with gorgeous fruits and veg, cheeses, breads, anything you might want. Also lots of takeaway food stalls. I got a quick coffee (love being able to tap the card for payment!) then we settled on lunch. I got mac and cheese and husband got a pork sandwich. We found a secluded spot to eat. It was very good. -After walking around a bit more, we grabbed drinks at a nearby pub. Then ice cream at Alain Ducasse (got stuck behind annoying, narcissistic Nick). The ice cream was OK; the chocolates are much better. -We headed over to Southwark cathedral only to be disappointed as it was closed for a private function. It would reopen for tourists the next afternoon but we wouldn’t be able to return. -We walked across the London Bridge—a boring, normal bridge that some rich dude in AZ bought and installed in Lake Havasu thinking it was Tower Bridge (lol)--to the Monument to the Great Fire. It’s really tall. We decided against climbing the 310 stairs to the top since the foot (plantar fasciitis) and knee were making themselves known. -Pulled up the blue guide and it listed several Wren Churches and sights in the area like St. Magnus the Martyr Church, Leadenhall Market (had drinks, bought some Fred), St. Margaret Pattens Church (Jane mentioned pattens in Persuasion), St. Dunstan’s in the East church ruins (so peaceful!). -I routed us to the Garden at 120 Fenchurch for gorgeous views from the 15th floor. London is really big and the skyscrapers are generally pretty ugly. We went back to Leadenhall market for drinks and it was teeming with after work crowds. -On the way to the Tube, we ran across St. Michael Cornhill (1672), closed, which purports to stand on one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain, dating back to the roman occupation. -All of these churches are by Wren from 1667-or so, after the great fire in 1666. -We walked through the Royal Exchange Mall with a quick top at the Fortnum and Mason store. They have really nice staff! -We had reservations at the Ship Tavern in Holborn for dinner at 630pm (made it by calling them at 3pm from the street outside St. Margaret Pattens). -We arrived on time and it was kind of empty but filled up while we were there. Very pretty, historic dining room. Nice staff (Josephine who had been a runner downstairs last year was now serving). Delicious food—chicken pot pie for me, beef wellington for husband, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

London