I keep putting off writing about my trip to London and it wasn't until this morning that I figured out why. By writing about it and remembering what a good time Photogal and I had I'm more or less admitting that the vacation is finally over. Sure, the experience will live on forever -- especially if it's bolstered by written remembrances -- but by writing a retrospective I'm effectively closing the door on the last chapter in my adventure book.

Ah well, I guess it's time.



We got in Thursday morning London time and figured out the Tube straightaway. It's remarkably easy to get around town -- before midnight (more on that later) -- so we found our way to our friend's flat in Fulham¹ in no time. We had a lovely breakfast and grabbed a quick nap before heading out to see a production of Billy Elliot at the lovely Victoria Palace Theatre.



The musical was lovely while being far ruder, funnier and energetic than I was expecting. The tunes were catchy (I believe the melodies were courtesy of Sir Elton John) and the stage design was rather nifty. My only complaint is that the seats were obviously not built with a six foot two American frame in mind. It took me about an hour to get feeling back in my knees after that one. All in all it was an aces experience. Also, the English really fucking hate Margaret Thatcher and really enjoy whipping out a fifty foot puppet in the middle of a Christmas musical number. Oh yes, and all the men donned tutus at the end of the show and got a standing ovation from much of the crowd. What is it with English men and drag?

The evening wound down pleasantly with a really good hamburger at a neighborhood gastropub and a final pint a few blocks from our hosts' house².

Day two started out with a lovely tour and lunch at a street market in the old town area of London where I had a really strong pint of cider and one of the sweetest and most sugary lemon meringues ever. Yow! We stumbled across the re-enactment of Admiral Nelson's some Admiral's (come on little bro, help me out with the name since it's too early for me to be messing with Google) funeral procession on the Thames (thanks for the name update Al.) We were expecting a huge fleet and were pretty surprised when the boats were actually much smaller rowboats with different nation's flags. I have to admit though that merely via its appointments the actual funeral boat was pretty impressive though.

After this we broke off an wandered around until we finally got to the Tate where I finally got to see Anselm Kiefer's Lilith live and in person. It's been a while since I encountered art that I'm familiar with that still has the power to knock the wind out of me and let me tell you that it's a lovely experience when it happens. I almost felt like I could crawl down the sides of the buildings in the painting and burrow into the depths of Sao Paulo and lose myself amidst the turbulent horrors.

We also got to see some Gilbert and George pieces and since that was my first time encountering any of those in the flesh that was pretty nifty.

By now Photogal had come across an ad for an exhibit at The National Portrait Gallery so we hopped a tube and made out way to Trafalgar Square. Lots of tourists there -- in the square -- but for one I didn't mind since the statues were so massive they rose far above the every day fray and stood as calm titans to reflect upon. That's the thing about European squares and their sculptures that really makes them different from a similar American experience. European sculptures just seem more timeless and I'm not sure why.




Anyway the exhibit at the Gallery was lots of fun and afterwards I stumbled across the four portraits that grace the cover of the Blur: Best Of album so that was pretty nifty too. The BP Portrait Award contest winners were also being displayed and Photogal and I agreed that the grand prize winner (left) won due to her eyes that seemed on the verge of tears but we argued over the meaning of the title of the fourth place winner, Any Monkey Can Take A Picture.




After that we climbed onto a bus and just wandered around London for a while taking in Hyde Park and other sights that happened to fall across our route. Oh man look at the time! I guess I'm going to have to continue this little travelogue with Friday night's events tomorrow.

¹London is broken up into cities/neighborhoods/boroughs and Fulham was one of those. So is Camden and Westminster and so on and so on. At no time did we ever (sadly) leave London so even though I'm tossing off names off what sounds like different cities it's no different than me saying Wicker Park or Williamsburg or Brooklyn.
²A note about our hosts: They were awesome. Not only did they save us a bundle by letting us stay at their roomy flat but they were also terrific when it came to helping us with directions or guidance or, really, anything. I wish I made more money so I could buy them a thank you gift large enough to show my actual appreciation for their generosity.