London Trip: Part 2

Saturday, March 14-Sunday, March 15: London Views, Art, Theatre, Tea

We had a beautiful sunny day on Saturday for our London activities, starting with amazing panoramas from the London Eye.

Our next stop was the Tate Britain, and we paused during our walk along the river for some coffee and to enjoy the views.

Since we had a limited time in London, I had decided to choose just one museum to visit and selected the Tate Britain because it has several works by John Singer Sargent, whose paintings I've always liked. I recently read a biography of Sargent that made me curious to see his work again in light of knowing more about his life, so this was a good opportunity to see some works that I hadn't seen before in person.

The museum also has many other well-known pieces in its collection, including these paintings of Ophelia, the Lady of Shallot, and a representative work by David Hockney.

We checked out the museum cafe for lunch but didn't find any good options so instead headed off along the riverfront path towards a nearby food hall. We ended up stopping at a cafe tucked into a building and directly across the river from the MI5 building! Mr. E and I shared a savory avo toast and a sweet peanut butter toast as we basked in the sunlight and gazed at the river.

Once we got back to the house, we continued with some laundry and napped a bit before heading out for our evening activity of The Tempest at the Globe Theatre. We had hoped to get some nibbles at the restaurant or bar there but didn't plan our timing well enough, so instead we settled for a bunch of items at the Starbucks across the street. The play was in the Sam Wanamaker playhouse, which is entirely lit by candles, which made things get a wee bit warm during the second act! The show was a modern version of the text and was really engaging and interesting, although it was a bit disappointing that several scenes were staged on the ground under the balcony level so we couldn't see the action happening there. No photos were allowed when the cast was onstage, but I got some views of the set at the end.

 

On Sunday morning, I went for a lovely walk around the residential area near the rental house and then went out for breakfast with my friend J to Megan's on the Green while Mr. E slept in a bit and headed to Starbucks for his morning meal. J and her friends all headed to the airport at various times that morning, but Mr. E and I had one more appointment, this time for a tour + tea at the Royal Ballet and Opera. After taking the underground to the Covent Garden station, we discovered the long winding steps to get to street level. Quite a workout! 

 

At the theatre, we enjoyed getting a backstage view of the facility that focused on the ballet side of things as well as the interesting views from the bridge between the buildings before having our high tea to close out the experience.

 

Then it was back to the house to pick up our bags and head to the airport for our flight from London to Japan to begin the next phase of our big trip. We both agreed that we want to make a return visit to London to explore more, so I think this destination will rise a bit higher on our travel list for future planning.

London Trip: Part 1

Wednesday, March 11-Friday, March 13: Travel, Settling In, Show, Sky Garden, Afternoon Tea

Mr. E and I left mid-afternoon on Wednesday for our overnight flight from O'Hare to London via a very short layover in Reykjavik. We tried out the Saga Business Class on Icelandair for this trip since it was shorter overall so the lack of lie-flat seats wasn't as much of a concern. We enjoyed the service and food options and definitely want to make a return trip to Iceland sometime soon since it's so much easier from ORD than from SMF.

We arrived mid-morning Thursday in London and received some very friendly assistance from staff at the Info Center in the underground station to help us purchase Oyster cards for the train and confirm our route to the rental house where we were staying with my colleague and her other friends. As we rode the train, we noticed all of the lovely spring flowers blooming everywhere, including forsythia, one of my favorites. I hadn't expected the climate and season to be so lovely for this time of year!

After a bit of difficulty with the house lock box, we managed to get in and find our room, which included a very convenient en suite bath. We got settled in and napped for bit, and then I got up to do my usual Zumba + yoga workout while Mr. E continued to snooze. Once we were both ready, we set out to explore the neighborhood a bit and started with coffee at a little spot just down the block. The staff noticed and complimented my kitty earrings and then drew a kitty face on my coffee cup!

We then moved on to procure provisions at the local coop and grocery store (popcorn, Tim Tams, mini eggs). We also found a great wine shop nearby on Parsons Green called Friarwood and chatted with the (French) owner for awhile, which was a lovely and personable encounter. The day wrapped up with dinner with my friend & colleague J at Megan's by the Green. The Mediterranean style menu didn't have too many food options for me, but the Strawberry Fields Forever cocktail was delicious! I also appreciated that the staff asked about allergies upfront and had a manage take my order to ensure that my dietary restrictions were appropriately accommodated.

Friday morning begin with breakfast from Starbucks and Prêt à Manger. Mr. E fetched the food while I did some homework, and then we set off with J via train for the late morning reading of Smalltown Boy: The New Wave Musical, a new show she's been working on with her writing partner. The reading focused on the first act and was in a studio room in SOHOplace. OMG. It was AMAZING!!! Mr. E and I were both seat dancing to the songs and were totally moved by the cast and the storyline. We can't wait to see how it develops further!

After the reading, we took the underground to the Sky Garden and enjoyed the panoramic views out over the city along with the interior greenery. The line to get in was a bit long and VERY windy at the corner of the building, but it was worth the wait.

We grabbed some lunch at the cafe near the gift shop and then wandered through the neighborhood a bit in search of a spot for afternoon tea. We ended up at Fortnum's at The Royal Exchange for some basic tea with scones, jam, and cream. 

Then we headed back to Soho for the post-show reception and had time to enjoy the immersive graphic displays across from the theatre space.

After chatting for a bit with J and others involved with the show, we decided to head back to the house to find someplace for dinner and ended up at The White Horse Pub, which was incredibly busy on the first floor but nice and quiet in the second floor dining area. Mr. E ordered a meat pie, which was a bit disappointing, but he enjoyed all of the gin offerings, and I had a lovely dish of seared scallops. We finished off the evening watching Young Sherlock on the bigscreen TV in the rental house's lower level entertainment space.

Return to Evanston

We came back to Evanston at the beginning of March but were only here for about 10 days before heading off on our big trip to London and Japan (those posts will be coming soon). We returned from the adventure on Friday, March 27th, just in time to participate in the No Kings rally at the Lakefront on Saturday, March 28th. It's so lovely to be back here and seeing the spring start to really arrive, with diverse Lake views, bunny sightings, and the first forsythia blossoms.