London: Day 4 (December 27)

We walked over to South Kensington from the flat in the morning. We went to breakfast at La Brioche, however I didn't see any brioche in the cafe! Anthony got the traditional full English breakfast with 2 fried eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, and coffee. Many refer to it as a "heart attack on a plate" and I can see why! We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum (VAM) afterwards. We started off in the architecture exhibit, which Uncle David would have really liked. The collection has drawings, manuscripts and models and talks about the comprehensive relationship that architecture has with the world. My friend Angela told me about the glass exhibit at the VAM and how it changed her appreciation of glass. It's really interesting how glass can be transformed and created into such different pieces of art. It was also really nice to see that many of the artists were from Seattle! The following hangs over the reception desk, but it glass blown by a guy from Seattle. His name is Dale Chihuly and apparently there was an exhibit of his work recently in Pittsburgh.


We walked over to the Harrods area and it was ridiculous. Harrods was actually closed because it was Boxing Day but the whole area was packed. We went into Harvey Nichols, which is like Nordstoms. There was wall-to-wall people. I could hardly breathe!

We went over to the square mile section of London and saw St. Paul's Cathedral.

We walked over the Millennium Bridge and went on a tour of The Globe Theatre. I would love to see a play there but its season is during the warmer months. The theatre is very traditional because its made of the same materials of the original. For those that don't know, the original Globe burned down and the second was forced to close. There is still a section in the front for the "groundlings," audience members who stand throughout the play. We walked around the exhibit after the tour and then walked along the river.



We went to dinner at Taz, a Turkish restaurant near the Young Vic Theatre. We got a bunch of appetizers, which were excellent, and then individual entrees. I was so full! We saw an an adaptation to Dicken's A Christmas Carol. It was an African version of the classic, with a female Scrouge.