Around London, no cycling: more pottery and a long walk

May 1, 2014

WEATHER: CLOUDY WITH RAIN, COOL

After a leisurely breakfast (more bacon) we ventured out into the rain and caught the tube to Waterloo Station south of the river Thames. From there we walked to the Southwark area to see a retrospective exhibit of the work of renowned potter Emmanuel Cooper. We were the only people there and spent a pleasant hour or so looking at the pieces and reading the accompanying commentary. Afterwards we walked a few blocks to the river and the Tate Modern museum, thinking that we would have a cup of coffee there and visit a few of the exhibits. The place was absolutely jam-packed with noisy people and many school groups, and we were told we would have to wait for a table in the cafe. Instead we beat a hasty retreat across the Millenium footbridge toward St. Paul's Cathedral.

Some bright pieces from the Emmanuel Cooper exhibit--a contrast with the rain outside.

More pieces from the exhibit. Due to the heavy overcast and rain, we didn't bother taking any photos along the walk back to Bloomsbury.

Even though it was raining, we decided to walk back to our hotel, since we knew we'd be sitting on the plane for many hours tomorrow. It was a long way following a zig-zag route through the City and Holborn to Bloomsbury. We stopped at the British Museum for a good lunch and coffee at the Gallery Cafe, and then back to the hotel for a rest.

In the late afternoon we boarded a bus to South Kensington where we had arranged to meet our daughter at Whole Foods. The bus ride took ages in the rush hour traffic—a good hour—but we didn't mind. It was interesting to sit on the top level of the bus and look out at all the activity along Oxford Street and past Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Maya was waiting for us on the prepared food floor upstairs at Whole Foods. We picked up an Asian dinner while catching up with each other's doings since we had parted on the train to Plymouth more than three weeks ago.

After dinner we took the tube back to our hotel (much faster than the bus). We packed up as much as possible to be ready for the airport taxi early tomorrow morning, and then turned in.

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