Today was
our visit to the Globe Theatre, but we started off the day by taking the tube
to Bond Street and stopping in the H & M store for Chelsea. In this
heat it's hard to imagine, but they're selling all their fall line with full
coats, wool sweaters, and jackets. Chelsea bought a few things, and then
we carried on by tube to Trafalgar Square.
We
stopped for breakfast at the National Cafe which is part of the National
Gallery. I had the typical British breakfast of eggs, toast, beans, bacon
and hash browns, plus blood sausage. The texture was a little strange,
plus it's almost black, so not the most appealing looking food, but it was
tasty. I probably wouldn't have ordered it, but it was OK to try. Chelsea
had an order of Cafe Benedict, which turned out to be eggs with Béarnaise Sauce
(tons of it), so that was kind of weird as well. Good thing we were
hungry!
We finished
up breakfast and popped into the National Gallery for an hour before going over
to the Globe Theatre. This is one of my favourite galleries in London as
it's not as big as the National Gallery, but I think the portraits displayed,
along with the historic notes on the subjects give more depth and personality
to the portraits. My favourite exhibit was by Laura Knight-
a British
artist during the early 1900's who helped other female artists by becoming the
first woman admitted in the British Artists Academy. At first they
wouldn't let her view the nude models because she was a female, so she would
have to paint only from statues, or other paintings, but eventually they
relented because of her great talent. Some of the portraits on display were
the gypsies of Nottingham, Ballet dancers of the London Ballet, and every the
women in service during World War II. Her works mostly feature women of
all ages with large brown eyes and expressive features. So wonderful to
view the originals.
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| Trafalgar Square |
We made
our way to the Globe Theatre by tube, but it was so hot it was brutal.
There was no air whatsoever and there were so many people in the tube
that it was difficult to breath. We got to the Globe and picked up our
tickets and cushions and headed into the Theatre. The Globe is a replica
of the original Shakespearean theatre built by the American Actor and Director,
Sam Wanamaker. It's an open aired theatre with standing room in front of
the stage and stalls (or seats) at the back. Our seats were in the stalls
and at first I thought this would be a good thing, but unfortunately we were
right in the blazing sun. Luckily Chels and I brought our fans, otherwise
I think we may have passed out. The woman next to me had to be helped out
by the staff at the Theatre, one woman in the standing area was taken out by a
wheelchair, and another in the balcony was also assisted out. It was so
hot that Chelsea and I only lasted till intermission and then had to leave.
I think if we had stayed we could have been in serious trouble. We
went into the Gift Shop to cool down because it was air conditioned, and then
we left the Theatre to get a cool drink.
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| The Globe Theatre |
We went
to the Anchor Pub which as built in the 1600's in Bankside. It was a
super cute Pub with a great atmosphere and good food. After a bite to eat
and a couple of Ciders, I convinced Chelsea (with great reluctance) to walk
across the Millennium Bridge (known as the Wibbly, Wobbly Bridge) as it was
cooler by the river rather than jumping on the hot tube ride. We walked
across the river and made our way up to St. Paul's and eventually the tube
station. As it was now around 5:00 PM, we noticed all the office workers
making their way home. I don't think I've seen a work force that dressed
up in a long time - just about every man was wearing a suit, tie, and Oxford
shoes. Made our way home on the Central Line and again all we wanted was
to get into our air conditioned room and cool off. Today was 28 degrees,
but with the humidity it really registered around 35 degrees. Tomorrow is
supposed to be cooler - around 18 degrees with rain - thank goodness! We'll be
going to Warner Brothers Studios to see Harry Potter.
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| The Anchor Bankside Pub |
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