Highlights-London Day 2
I toured the Tate Modern, including a stop at the 10th floor espresso bar (latte and Victoria sponge cake). The view of St. Paul’s Cathedral was very nice. I walked all around Covent Garden, stopping in the Apple Store to learn how to take better photos with iPhone.
Tate Modern
This is called Experiential Art (I passed)
Ralph
Practicing at the Apple Store. This was the best subject I could find.
Notable Items
I went to the nearest Starbucks for more comfortable latte sipping. No joy. There were regular doors, but positioned wide open, possibly to facilitate taking chairs outside. I packed layers of clothing to deal with this, but didn’t anticipate the need for layering up in Starbucks (silly me). This was a safety issue. You don’t want to spontaneously combust in Starbucks from over layering.
The Tate Modern, south bank of the Thames, was a brisk 4.5km walk from the apartment. I was still shagged out from the previous day’s run, so I rested frequently. There was a little clutch of shops and restaurants on the way. I stopped at Hot Mess Toasties. That’s exactly what my cheese toastie (grilled cheese) looked like. Aside: Hot mess can be literal as well as figurative. As mentally rich expressions go, I think it’s right up there with flaming garbage barge.
As I walked through the cavernous entrance hall and exhibit rooms of the Tate Modern, it was difficult not to feel overwhelmed by its scale. The art that constantly puts your brain into “What the heck is that?” mode is part of the effect. Fortunately, I discovered The Quiet Room for neurodiverse people. My wife regularly tells me that I have strange ideas. Does that count as neurodiverse?
On the return to Soho, I wandered through Covent Garden (huge shopping area). It wasn’t “on the way,” but the detour was slight, and it is worth it for appreciating the massive scale of commercial activity there. It has so many shops that extended visits could quickly slide from retail therapy to shopping fatigue. I can’t benefit from the first, nor do I suffer from the second. My single bag is packed denser than a black hole when I start a trip. I can still get things out, however.
There was a class at the Apple Store when I popped inside. It has been my experience that the free classes offered by Apple in big cities are much better than Albuquerque’s (think of this as the green chile tax). This was “How to Take Better Photos with iPhone.” I always stay after the classes to ask questions. After this class, I learned how to pronounce the name of an English village near Milton Keynes (not to be confused with its non-urban cousin, John Maynard), Towcester (“toaster”). What language is that?
My evening mission was to find an Eton Mess. Some days my travel goals are modest. With some LLM assistance that was so-so (some tasks are beyond their capabilities), I went to the Lamb and Flag pub. I was dubious about getting served this century when I saw the huge crowd spilling into the alley from the bar. On a hunch, I walked to the side entrance and saw a sign indicating that the dining room was upstairs. This is very common in London, where real estate is so expensive. I was seated immediately. They didn’t have Eton Mess on the menu, but I stayed for the Admiral’s Seafood Pie and Pavlova. At many pubs, you order and pay at the bar, then someone brings the food. Here it was “order at the table, pay at the bar.” You have to stay on your cognitive toes when you travel. I can see that being a problem in the future. I’ll get lost on the way to the toilet!