Paris

We were up early to get to St. Pancreas Station for the Eurostar Train to Paris!  We arrived at 2pm, after an incredibly smooth train ride.  We took the Metro from Gare du Nord to the 11e where we have a rented a stylish loft apartment.  

We settled in briefly and then headed to the Orangerie.  The Orangerie was not open the last time I was in Paris (in 2006), it houses Monet’s Water lilly materpieces in oval rooms with filtered natural light. Monet donated these to the French state and these rooms were purpose built for the paintings.  There was an exhibit of Renoir, Picasso and others on the lower level.

We checked out the local Pause Café for dinner, a spot frequented by students who mostly spent their time smoking in the covered, heated outdoor patio area.  Smoking has been banned from inside restaurants and bars in France, although apparently not patio areas even if they are enclosed and the door between the patio and inside is left open, basically defeating the smoking ban. There was plenty of baguette and wine and delicious food though.

At the Tuileries Garden

Easter Sunday

We started with a church service at Southwark cathedral including the handing out of fair trade Easter eggs for children and others.  We enjoyed walking around the South Bank and enjoyed lunch at the Cathedral’s café.  Delicious quiche and pea soup.  

We then grabbed to tube to get to the Hammersmith Bridge where we could watch the Boat Race.  This race happens annually on Easter Weekend, pitting the 8 man rowing team from Oxford against Cambridge.  Oxford won decisively won the race this time.  It was a great event, with tons of people crowding the bridge and sides of the Thames.  I think that there have been 4 or 5 years where at least one team's boat sank, but this year both made it across the line!

Highlights of London:

1.     Tapas at White Rabbit

2.     Drinks with the Spaniards at Hens and Roosters

3.     Winslow Boy at the Old Vic

4.     Walking across Waterloo Bridge at night

T Tomorrow morning we leave for Paris!

Saturday

The day started out sunny, but still very cold and it quickly clouded over (happens everyday).  We went to the Portobello Road Market to check out antiques, food, and more.  We spend the morning exploring the area, enjoying curry and churros and chocolate!  In the afternoon we popped over to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  We saw modern Middle Eastern photography, ceramics and furniture collections. 

This evening we enjoyed Theatre at the Old Vic, where we saw Winslow Boy, which was excellent. Afterwards we walked across the Waterloo Bridge, taking in the lights of the city at night.

Outside the Natural History Museum, beside the V&A. 

The cafe at the V&A.

At the Old Vic Theatre

At the theatre.

The London Eye and Big Ben at night.

 

The city lights. 

Greenwich and the London Eye

Today we visited Greenwich and the Cutty Sark!  The Cutty Sark is a tea clipper which has been preserved as a museum, we opted to skip the museum as the queue snaked around the boat.  

We did hike up to the observatory and admired the view.  At lunch on tope of the hill, we shared a picnic table was a friendly Russian family who now live in London.  The view was quite good, but despite the sunny photos it was freezing.  I’m am starting to suspect that the weather in London is always terrible, although according to the BBC, this is the coldest March in England in 50 years!! 

At Greenwich with the Cutty Sark.

Cutty Sark!

At Greenwich on the dividing line.

View from the observatory at Greenwich

There is sun, but it is not warm.

Inside the National Maritime Museum.

Next we took a Thames Boat back into central London to board the London Eye for a view of the city!  Despite the crowds we were waited only 30 mins to board, although the line was massive.  We did met a friendly grandfather from New Zealand while waiting in line. He was visiting with 3 generations of his family, including his 2 month old grand-daughter.  We walked over to the Tate Modern and enjoyed a beer overlooking the Millenium Bridge, the Thames and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Big Ben from the London Eye

The Shard.

Buildings at White Hall (mostly the bureaucracy)

Next we headed over to Brick Lane, the traditional heart of London’s Bangladeshi community for dinner.  Unfortunately the Bangladesh community has mostly moved out of the area, and now it’s mostly a tourist trap.  We picked a promising Middle Eastern restaurant, and ran into Yasmina and her friends again!  The chef was Algerian, but the food seemed to be generic Lebanese/Syrian/Palistinean.  After finding out that Dan was Lebanese, a plate of baclava appeared at our table.We were planning to go to a comedy club nearby but couldn’t find the spot, so ended up just heading home.

Thursday and Dan arrives

Dan arrived this morning.  He was a bit tired after the overnight flight with not much sleep.  He did agree to a quick visit to the British Museum to check out the Magna Carta and other historical documents.  Then it was over to Oxford Circus for some shopping. We enjoyed dinner at White Rabbit, with a new dessert option, orange sherbet with chocolate ganache and malted chocolate crumbs.  We met up with Yasmina and her friends from Madrid, who were visiting for the weekend, at a pub near Highbury & Islington Station.