Today we got to sleep in because we needed to recover a little bit. Ad and I slept until 11:15, it was great. We then had to scurry to get ready pack our bags and move to the other hotel. It wasn’t too bad and the taxi we took to the other hotel was a nice change. It has been a while since I was in a car. The driver was really nice and bashed Pres. Bush a few times. It was kind of amusing that he disliked him so much and loved Obama. The new hotel is right across from Em’s flat and so much better. We actually have room to move and the bathroom there is room to stand.
We met up with Em and ate lunch in at an authentic Italian place called Dino’s, it was delicious! Then onto the Tate Britain museum via the tube. We got off at St. Paul’s cathedral and realized that the Tate Britain was way far away so instead we crossed over the millennium bridge and went to the Tate Modern. I guess I am not that much of an art aficionado because I don’t understand the significance of a lot of the modern art in that museum. It is neat and looks cool but the meaning behind it all surpasses me. I just haven’t learned that much about it. I did get to see some Picassos, Andy Warhol’s, and a Monet that were beautiful. It was crazy to think I was looking at originals of some of the most famous works of art.
Ad didn’t last long in the Tate Modern so we met him outside when we were done. From there we walked down the South Shore boardwalk towards the Tower Bridge. Along the way we stopped to look at the Globe Theater, which is a replica of Shakespeare’s theatre. We then also stopped into a pub to watch the final set between Roddick and Federer. It was sad to see Roddick lose but we were rooting him on the entire time. The pub was actually split half and half in their cheering sections.
We continued on our walk along the shore, saw the H&M Bellfast ship which was the largest navy ship in the British army. It was in at the D-Day battle and is now docked on the Thames River in London. It was closed so we didn’t go in but just looking at it was great. After that we walked further and stopped for some coffee and a cookie, the wind was beginning to pick up and it got a bit chilly. After the warm up we got really close to the Tower Bridge and took some pictures. While taking some pictures a boat needed to pass under so the gates were raised. It is spectacular to see the bridge in motion. Once the gates were down be walked across the bridge looking for somewhere to eat dinner. To our dismay there was nothing open on the north shore so we had to wait until another bridge where we walked back to the south shore for a restaurant.
It was called Founders Arm and they had amazing chips (French fries) however the rest of their food left something to be desired, such as good flavor. I had what was supposed to be a crispy duck ciabatta with cucumbers and onions. It turned out to look like a flat smashed sandwich will raw onions, 2 cucumber slivers, and a brown duck paste that Emily said looked more like something from the toilet. It was gross and I ate it after I covered it in ketchup. Em had a brie sandwich which was all white bread. The slices were so thick it looked like 1/4th of a loaf of bread. Ad got the standard fish and chips but they kind of left some of the skin on the fish and the bottom part was very wet and mushy. I think the place was more known for their drinks rather than there food. It was an experience though and sitting right on the river was a pretty cool way to watch the sunset over the London Tower, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Tower Bridge. After that we caught to tube home for some R and R. More to come tomorrow. We are going to Westminster Abby and some museums.
Meg
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