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08-06-10

Day 1 & 2 : London

Jenni is in the kitchen making tea and i am typing our first report, after two solid days in London.
The flat where we are staying is quite close to Russell Square, which is a tube stop, and also a park. The guy renting us the room is quite nice and the place has everything we need. Points for airbnb so far.

When we first arrived we made every effort to resist sleeping, and after refueling at ‘Pret a Manger’ – a ubiquitous chain of quick-bites – we proceeded to the british museum which is walking distance from where we are staying. We had to contend with a sizable crowd but Jenni got some great shots in the Egyptian, Roman and Greek wings. The European wing had a lot of local history – like a gold coin bearing the image of emperor Carausius, who lead a breakaway ‘mini-empire’ of Britain and Gaul in the late third century. It was found in someones backyard in 2007.

The temptation to nap just became too great, but we did awaken in time to make it to the Lexington to see a concert. ‘Chad Valley’ opened with a one-man synth-opera style that we both thought was great. Then ‘Plants and Animals’ came on. In the past this band from Montreal was instrumental, but the vocals were decent. We didn’t stay long after the headliner, instead attempting to barhop, which wasn’t very successful as we didn’t know which areas had the scene.

We started late the next day, grabbing Breakfast at Tesco (supermarket) – we ate in Princes Garden before hitting the Science Museum, which gets mixed reviews. Its really for kids, and there were so many of them and the admission was so free that we did a flyby past some apollo space vehicles and jetted out there. We headed to Westminster and walked along the Thames to the Tate Modern, where we we saw an exhibit called Exposed – mostly voyeuristic photos. Jenni liked it. Andrew is now paranoid.

We tried to get tickets for Anne Boleyn at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, but it was sold out – we’ll try for the matinee tomorrow. It was pub time anyway, and we dropped in on The Banker in the north side. Seem like a good place to go for a pint or if you want to discuss the economy. Finally we capped the evening off with a trip to Piccadilly Circus to see Gainsburg at the cinema. Jenni liked it. Andrew slept.

Check out the London photos so far.