Mum in London!

Thursday
My 'mum' came to London from Thursday night to Monday morning. We walked absolutely everywhere and it was great. The first night, I gave her Chardonnary and Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Chianti vineyard that I visited in Tuscany. We chowed down with Jen and Jenny, and tried to get some rest for the next day.

Friday
I had to go to class from 9:30am-1:30pm, so she walked down to Kensington Palace through Hyde Park siteseeing and searching for breakfast. When we met up, we walked over to where I have class and down Gloucester Road to the tube. We decided to first go to the "City" where I work at the Royal Exchange. We to had trouble choosing where to eat and just ate at Starbucks before we walked by the Bank of England, the house of the City's Mayor, the Swiss Re Gherkin, through Leadenhall Market (Harry Potter's Diagon Alley) and past Lloyd's of London to the Tower of London. It was a beautiful day so we got great pictures at the Tower and along the Thames in front of the Tower Bridge. We went up into the Tower Bridge exhibition to get a great view of the city along the Thames, and then into the pump rooms for the drawbridge. Later, we went to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After touring that area, we walked along the river, from which we could view the London Eye lit up at night, to Trafalgar Square spotted Renoir's Landscapes which we knew we wanted to go back to see later. We followed that down to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus.

Saturday
On Saturday morning, we walked up Queensgate to Kensington Palace and through Hyde Park to go to Portobello Market. It was a bit crowded, and a long walk so we decided to trek back to the Notting Hill tube stop and go to Oxford Street for theatre tickets. We started on Argyll for Sound of Music, then walked down to Guys and Dolls and finally Avenue Q. We got great tickets for a 5pm showing so we ate late lunch at a nearby pub for an hour or so before walking back over. The show was amazing and we laughed hysterically almost the entire time. Since it was a relatively early showing, we went searching through Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus for another show, movie or comedy club. Spontaneously, we chose to go to 99 comedy club and see 3 comedians. We got center seats on a sofa in the back; although we didn't have a view we were close enough to hear it really well and the comedians were good. The first was the best, then the other 2 were alright. There was an argument between this one big drunk guy and the people sitting right next to us, so we were a bit concerned but it was all okay. After the show, we went back to South Kensington and rested up for the next day.

Sunday
We began Sunday very early at Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards and marching band. They played a lot of modern and classical tunes like the Star Wars theme and I think something from Don Giovanni or some opera. The website listed the start time earlier than it actually was, so we waited for quite some time before it began. However, we enjoyed the walk around the Palace and near St. James's Park because it was such a beautiful day. We left during the band to see the Globe Theatre.

We took the tube to the London Bridge stop on the south side of the river, and walked the Thames Path until we stopped at Pizza Express (and had the best fungotti [stuffed mushroom on garlic bread] ever! We passed the Southwark Bridge, the Golden Hinde ship, and the Clink Prison Museum on the way to the Globe.

It was absolutely amazing, and that was greatly to the help of our tour guide. She truly enjoyed telling us about the reconstruction and redevelopment of the Globe by Sam Wanamaker, as well as the details of the historic behavior within the seating/standing areas, use of the inflexible stage during shows due to the lack of a curtain and high balonies, costumes, etc. The audience is very interactive with the actors, and actually some of the action occurs where the "groundlings" stand i.e. sword fight. Almost the entire stage is wood painted with elaborate scenes and marble. The theatre is not an exact replica of the original due to modern fire and safety regulations i.e. sprinklers on top of the thatched roof. Also, when a character dies they must lie motionless on the stage for the remainder of the show due to the lack of curtains. Romeo and Juliet had difficulty on the stage when they pass a rose because the balcony is very high.

Outside the Globe, we stopped for a quick snack at a food stand and looked down the wall to a small patch of sand where people were standing near a sculpture of a man covered by an octopus, over which a man was drinking an entire bottle of wine. We continued our walk along the Thames Path past the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern, Blackfriar's Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Hungerford Bridge and human statues to the London Eye. After some consideration, my mom was nervous about the height of the London Eye (which, I admit was rather daunting) and so we walked by Dali Universe where we saw a large statue of the warped clock before turning back to the Hungerford Bridge.

We walked down Northumberland Avenue to Trafalgar Square where we remembered how we wanted to see Renoir's Landscapes. We rushed in to see them in the last 45 minutes the National Gallery was open, and it was absolutely amazing. There were 64 paintings, along with which I read a blurb in a booklet. I am very disappointed that I did not have more time to spend staring at these hypnotizing paintings; you truly feel like you are a part of them. My mom discovered that "Wheatfield" painted in 1879 was her favorite of them all. The blurb reads:

"In this frieze of wheat, which registers the movement of the wind, Renoir's
handling of paint is particularly bold. Hatches of olive green, brown and yellow
punctuate the expanse of gold. Precise strokes, applied at speed, convey a sharp
focus that softens to the rear of the scene. This is the purest of landscapes: a
composition that relies neither on figures, buildings, nor unusual geographical
motifs."

I had a much more difficult time choosing a favorite painting, although I frequently like paintings that seemed to join people with nature. After Renoir's beautiful works of art, we considered eating in Trafalgar Square and then decided to turn back to South Kensington for a more relaxing meal. We rested here for a bit, and then walked down Queensgate to High Street where we ate at Giraffe. We had Mango Mama smoothies and fresh hummus with vegetables and warm naan bread. For dinner, she had a colorful vegetable stirfry and I had a falafal burger.

Monday
The following morning, we woke up very early and I walked her back to South Kensington to make sure she got to Heathrow alright. Thus was the end of our weekend in London.