Nice Day in London

K and I traveled to London on 27 February and the train was packed--we had to stand the entire trip (55 minutes)There were two big games in London (the England Ireland Rugby match and a soccer match) and people were going to those games and in a great celebratory mood. There was a big man in a kilt drinking straight from his Champagne bottle. Several groups of women with baskets full of food and champagne were having a wonderful time, and talking and laughing louder and louder! We wondered where the husbands were, probably at home in front of the big screen tvs!

At Kings Cross we went by tube to the Tower and then found a pier and hopped on a boat to Greenwich. It was a grey blowy day so inside was best

There is always lots to see from the boat. Leaving the tower, we saw the shard on the left.

And an excellent view of the Tower,

Getting off at the Maritime Museum


Where we had a nice lunch. I was most impressed with the huge bouquet of daffodils!

Then onto the Samuel Pepys show which we enjoyed very much.  This day was special as there were young people roaming around in the exhibit singing songs about Pepys and his time. Sounds strange but it added a nice atmospheric touch. The London Fire animation was brilliant as it clearly showed the fire's path as it spread across London.

One interesting thing I learned was that Pepys as a young man survived a dangerous and painful operation when he had a huge stone successfully removed from his bladder. The instruments that were used were shown. It looked gruesome and hard to imagine people survived these early surgeries without anesthesia and antibiotics! 

Pepys diary, the most celebrated diary in English C, is at Magdalene College Cambridge where Pepys was a student, along with his books and book cases. He kept the diary between 1160-1669 and it gives us specific information about life in London at that time, about the Plague and the Fire and the Restoration period in English History, as well as intimate knowledge of his personal life. We went there with Jane and Mark but it closes at four and we missed it. We will go back.  There is a new biography Samuel Pepys and his Books: Reading, Newsgathering, and Sociability, 1660-1703 by Kate Loveman. Sounds fascinating!

After the show, we traveled back to London via boat and then to Trafalgar Square where we just missed a big lobby against Trident or nuclear weapons. Vanessa Redgrave and others had spoken.

We poked our heads into the National Portrait gallery which we always enjoy (it is free and has lovely portraits of all the people you want to see, like this portrait of Richard Owen as a young man! He is in part responsible for the dinosaurs at the Crystal Palace in Sydenham Park!)

 

and then headed over to Piccadilly, always festive and fun to watch the crowds mingling.

And onto a favorite restaurant, Andrew Edmunds where we had a nice table (reserved) looking out over the tiny street.

This quiet restaurant is romantic and cozy with a delicious menu.  We had the Kingston Black Apple aperitif.  I had the mushrooms; Kevin the pork and a delicious red wine.

A good day and a  comfortable ride back to Cambridge.