London - July 23,2009

Tate Museum and Globe Theater

After another slow start in the morning, we headed over to Covent Garden to walk around. From there, we walked across the Waterloo Bridge and along the River Thames to the Globe Theater. After grabbing a quick bite, we attended "Troilus and Cressida", a 3-hour Shakespeare play. The theater is open air and we had all forms of weather - sun, rain, wind. Fascinating experience. In the evening, we met friends of Gretchen's for dinner at Lena's in the up and coming Old Street area. By the time we got home, it was after midnight. One more day in London....

London - July 22, 2009

We started our day at Harrod's and then split up and went in different directions. I met my friend Grace and her two kids at the store. She and I went to business school together many years ago. She ended up marrying a Brit and has been in the U.K. ever since. They came into the city to meet me. We had a nice cup of coffee/hot chocolate and then a quick dim sum lunch before meandering over to Picadilly Square to do some shopping. I then raced back to the flat to get our theater tickets and met up with Gretchen and crew at the Covent Garden Hotel for dinner. From there, we went to see "War Horse", a fabulous play that is very popular in London and will certainly make it to NY sometime soon. Loved it. Despite the time difference and the difficulty I'm having at night, I didn't nod off once. It's a must see.

London - July 21, 2009

View from St. Paul's Cathedral

This morning we headed out to St. Paul's Cathedral. As we came out of the tube, the raindrops began to fall. It was a hotter, more humid than it has been. We toured through the crypt and climbed the stairs all the way to the top. After St. Paul's, we crossed the bridge to visit the Globe (Shakespeare Theater) and bought tickets to see Troilus and Cressida at the Thursday matinee. Then we popped over to the Tate museum and walked throught some of the exhibits. The popular museum shop gift was the fold-out timeline of modern art and artists from the 1920's to today. After returning to our flat for a quick change, Gretchen and I went out to meet a colleague of hers at The Hospital Club for Quiz Night. Needless to say, we came in last as we didn't know all of the British references. But it was fun to see the locals in action.

London - July 20, 2009

Kensington Palace Gardens

After a leisurely morning, we strolled over the Kensington Palace (in our backyard - we're staying in the Old Barracks) to take the tour. We then walked towards South Kensington and ended up having a late lunch at the restaurant in the Pelham Hotel, where Gretchen and Stephanie had stayed a few years ago. We finally headed into the tube to get to Picadilly Circus and search out theater tickets. We were able to get tickets for "War Horse" on Wed night which we're excited about. Many of the shows here in London are already in the U.S. but this one is newer so we're feeling like we're on the cutting edge. We then walked through Soho to Carnaby Street where we ended up getting separated and ultimately found each other back at the flat. By this time, it was almost 9 pm so we popped around the corner for a late night Thai dinner and are ready for a good night sleep.

London - July 19, 2009

Tower Bridge

The start of six days in London with Gretchen and her daughter Stephanie and Stephanie's friend Katie. After Stephanie and Katie arrived, we embarked on the Big Bus to get a sense of the layout of London. It was a day of on and off rain but we managed to avoid the raindrops as much as possible. We are staying in the Old Barracks next to Kensington Palace so we rode the bus all the way to the Tower of London. Took a quick tour to see the Crown Jewels, hopped on a Ferry Cruise back to Westminster and Big Ben and then got on the bus back to Kensington Gardens. After walking clear across the park, we finally went to dinner around 8:30 pm at Ffiona's on Kensington Church Street, a lovely small neighborhood restaurant where the food is fresh and Ffiona herself sat down right next to us multiple times during the evening as she took our order, etc. We would go back in a heartbeat. A great first day!