Victoria and Albert

It was another coldish weekend and something indoors seemed desirable, so back to London for another museum.  This time we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  It was in a different neighborhood and also featured design. There was a trendy show on the fashion of Alexander McQueen which was sold out until May, but we got there early enough to get day of tickets for 3 hours later.  Filling up the time was no problem, the museum was huge and we were there from about 11 to closing at 5:30.  We then took a long walk, seeing the Royal Albert Hall and the glistening and golden Albert Memorial then walking through Kensington Gardens (via the Diana memorial) and along the pond (filled with interesting waterfowl) to Hyde Park.  Our goal was Chinatown but we passed a promising looking Ramen place and went there instead.

The day before we took the bus to a nearby village (unfortunately not charming) to hear John Bryden - Noah's Edinburgh piano teacher - practice the Mozart Wind Quintet.  He is doing a concert to thank donors of a new Steinway but we will be back in the US by then.

London's West End

We finally went to see a show in London - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.  We both read the book (or so we think, I couldn't remember it at all), but in any case, we enjoyed the show and I used my birthday present to upgrade to excellent seats.  Mark won a trinket for sitting in a seat with a prime number and having a name that translates into a prime number.

It was a beautiful day, the warmest since we've been here and very sunny.  It finally felt like spring, especially with the crocus and daffodils in bloom.  So before the show we spent a few hours walking around the Bloomsbury neighborhood of London, enjoying the residential squares (green spaces) and thinking of all the literary figures who lived there.

After the show the neighborhood around the theatre (Soho) had totally changed. It was Saturday night in what reminded us of a mix of Times Square before it got cleaned up and the West Village.  There were lots of trendy and relatively inexpensive restaurants to choose from,  so we went to a very yummy Udon Noodle / Japanese place called Koya Bar and even had to wait in line even though it was only 5ish.

On the way to the tube we also went to the flagship branch of Foyles, a huge and yet another amazing London independent bookstore. 

Photo catch up

Norwich Cathedral

Norwich Cathedral

Gate to Norwich Cathedral Close

Norwich Cathedral

Roof boss, Norwich Cathedral Cloister

Norwich Cathedral

Norwich Castle

Chapel at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge

Gandhi, Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, London

St. George's, Bloomsbury, London

Crocus field by the Cam, U of Cambridge

Leicester Square Adventures

Attention Brits! Visit the US.

We are now almost 2/3 of the way through our stay and all of sudden are feeling some pressure to be tourists.  So we got over our inertia (last weekend I didn't even leave the flat) and followed our Saturday trip to the country with a Sunday trip to London.  The destination was the Sargent exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.  However, when looking at a map I noticed that the museum was near Chinatown (I didn't even know London had a Chinatown!) so a dim sum plan at Imperial China was also hatched. On the tube going to Leicester Square (about a 5 minute walk to our two destinations in either direction), we saw this amusing Las Vegas tourism sign.

Wasabi Prawn Dupmlings

Lisle Street, Chinatown

Chinese New Year had been earlier in the week and (unbenownst to us) Chinatown was still hosting festivities days later.  So there were firecrackers and hordes of people, particularly around the Lion Dance  The dim sum (off the menu rather than carts though) was delicious and there were many things we had never seen before.  The shrimp dumplings in wasabi dough were an inspiration.

New Year's Float

Sir Paul

                 






The Sargent exhibit also lived up to the hype, what a master.  The rest of the museum was really interesting too, beginning with the Tudors and showing the history of Britain through portraits.  Ending with Paul! We were there almost 4 hours and were rushed. It would have helped to know more about British history though.

London Calling

Tea Department at Fornum and Mason

More friends from NJ (Howard and Lisa) inspired us to finally take the train to London.  It is actually quite easy and similar to getting from NJ to NYC.  Our flat is a 10 minute walk to the train station. From there an express train is under an hour to King's Cross, and from there we can transfer to the tube.

We had bought advance tickets to see Rubens and his Legacy at the Royal Academy of Arts (the first day of the latest "blockbuster").  Luckily the crowds were not horrific and the exhibit was not exhaustingly long.  It turns out that there is a lot more to Rubens than just Rubenesque women.

Since we got to the Academy early we had a little time to explore Piccadilly Street (in the ritzy Mayfair neighborhood, where we in fact passed "The Ritz").  We first discovered Hatchard's Booksellers which reminded us of the former Rizzoli Bookstore in Manhattan (interesting selection of books and a beautiful space).   Right next door was Fortnum and Mason. I have never been in such an elegant department store, not even in Manhattan.  It was like stepping into the original Selfridge's from the recent BBC show.  We focused on the famous food hall and purchased some tea.

The real point of our trip, however, was to eat our Michelin 2* dinner at The Greenhouse. It has been years since we have been at a restaurant of that caliber and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our 4 hours there.  The food was French-inspired but very light (as these things go), with layered creations mixing many flavours and textures.  It was wonderful having a chance to catch up with Howard and Lisa as well as to revive our past eating days.