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Some might like to see
London, itself, as a museum, but it isn’t. However many fine museums
deserve your curiosity, attention, time, interest and wonder.
The Tate Modern
That’s not any old energy you’re feeling.
Created in the year 2000, this new cathedral of modernism (art since 1900)
occupies a former power station. Sprinkled throughout are assorted Great
Names In Art: Picasso, Monet, Warhol Mondrian, Lichtenstein, Bacon, Braque
and Pollock to name a few. A recent example is what the Tate
describes as “the first major UK exhibition to explore the extraordinary
art of Martin Kippenberger (1953–97).” The exhibition included Kippenberger installation “The Happy
End of Franz Kafka's 'Amerika’” (1994)
 This
was a collection of tables and chairs set up on a green basketball court,
and was “a commentary on Kafka's description of the series of interviews
faced by immigrants on arrival in the USA.” Tate Modern is located on the
south bank of the River Thames at Bankside, near Blackfriars Bridge,
opposite St Paul's Cathedral and next to the Globe Theatre.
More information
The Victoria and Albert Museum
Take a ride on the V&A. A typical exhibit was “Anna Piaggi: Fashion-ology.”
Ms. Piaggi, according to the museum “is a fashion reporter, editor, divinor of trends, designers’ muse and self-styled icon.” The show
was
about how Piaggi thinks about and explains fashion. It was divided into 13
“statements.” These ranged from a page of text to a room filled with
objects. More information
The British Museum
Designed in the Greek Revival mode, The British Museum gives the
reassuring sense of permanence that culture so desperately craves. Somehow
the curvature of the Great Court’s Norman Foster-designed roof, made of
steel and glass, furthers this little illusion of eternity. The Great
Court is indeed a courtyard but in its center is the original Round
Reading Room, where as everyone loves to note, Karl Marx wrote Das
Kapital, clearly a labor of love and vice versa. Other Reading Room
regulars have included Oscar Wilde, Mohandas Gandhi, Rudyard Kipling,
Vladimir Lenin, Thomas Carlyle, G.B. Shaw and H. G. Wells.
Not everyone has gone to the British Museum to soak themselves in
scholarship and write major cultural landmarks. It is a museum and people
do like to see the pretty pictures, artifacts and what have you. For
example there are the Greek and Roman antiquities, including the Elgin
Marbles.
For 2006 the museum was in a mighty Michelangelo state of mind. From 12
January – 25 June 2006, the museum offered “Michelangelo:
Money And Medals.” The rare Renaissance Italy coins and medals
on display told the story of the great artist’s real world accumulation of
wealth and fame. This intimate exhibit was joined by the official
blockbuster “Michelangelo Drawings: Closer To
The Master" which ran 3 March – 25 June 2006). It
focused on Michelangelo’s amazing draftsmanship over the course of 60 years
and gave insights into paintings with which some of the drawings are
associated. More information
The National Gallery
Get a load of
storytelling the renaissance medieval and renaissance way and more. The
National Gallery’s permanent collection includes Western European works
created between about 1250 through 1900. A few of the artists represented
include Monet, Botticelli, Constable, da Vinci, Cézanne, Raphael, Titian,
Canaletto, Caravaggio, Rubens and Stubbs. The building itself, located on
Trafalgar Square, is an architectural gem. A recent exhibit was “Tom Hunter: Living in Hell and Other Stories”
which showcased the British photographer whose award-winning work captures
today’s world, while being compositionally based on classic paintings.
 There
were two other recent offerings of note. One was “Americans in Paris 1860
– 1900” which featured the work of such Paris-trained Yanks as James
McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt,Cecilia Beaux,
Elizabeth Nourse and Theodore Robinson. A companion exhibit was “Mary Cassatt: Prints.” This featured 19 of her prints. For more information
about the National Gallery, click
here.
Somerset House
Venerable Somerset house is
hardly a secret but still there is something thrilling about walking along
the busy Strand, entering a building and finding a courtyard and cultural
hub. The Somerset House offers performances, family events, talks and art
exhibits. In the winter ( late November to the end of January)
the courtyard becomes an ice rink where people skate under ghostly blue
lights. Indoors, there is a museum with some fascinating shows. An
example was “All Spirit and Fire,” 35
drawings and paintings by Venetian painter
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770)
www.somerset-house.org.uk
Open House
Although not strictly speaking a cultural institution, there is something
museumish about the annual Open House. This
year on 17-18 September, London became a “living architectural
exhibition” as government, business and private buildings opened their
doors. Admission is free but it helps to buy a building guide
£3.75. Do it online.
www.londonopenhouse.org
London
Plural
Now that you've soaked up all that culture, get a sense of the different
Londons. Amble through or past some amazing places.
Located in the Westminster
section of the city, Palace of Westminster, a
massive gothic revival structure exudes majesty and permanence.
More information. Westminster
houses Parliament and a symbol for the ages.
How can a clock be
timeless? Big Ben not only declares the
time. The 13.5 ton Palace of Westminster clock tower bell evokes the very
soul of London. Poor William Shakespeare did not have the good fortune to
hear Big Ben (The bell's first public chime sounded n 31 May, 1859), the
music of Shakespeare certainly is in Big Ben's tones -- along with
Newton's clarity, Churchill's will, Princess Diana's compassion and the
dreams, thoughts, passions wishes and essence of millions of Londoners,
present and past. Have a listen.
Hyde Park is worth finding.
It’s known around the world for its Sunday Speaker’s Corner, a sort of
open mike (without the mike) for soapbox orators, preachers, assorted
zealots and the detractors who razz them. Mostly it’s a lovely park with a
lake, flower gardens, fountains, greenery, rowboats, statues.
More information
The Marble Arch sits on what once
was called Tuburn, England’s number one execution spot. It is now marked
by a stone in a traffic island in the junction where Bayswater Road meets
Edgware Rd. In the 60s Ms. Traveler sat there with her friends and
guitar.
 In
the newly energized south London neighborhood Southwark near London
Bridge, the Borough Market a long standing fixture has recently been
gaining more buzz. It’s amazing what a bunch or fresh cheeses and Brussels
sprouts can do for an area’s reputation. There you’ll find vendors
spreading their food and wine wares in an assortment of stalls. a lofty
glass ceiling such as you might find in an old fashioned railway station
provides a canopy for the outdoor market. Stroll through and it’s a
feast for the eyes especially if you have eyes for a feast.
Shoulder to
shoulder with each other are purveyors of olives, cheeses, fresh
vegetables, fruits, Spanish specialties, olive oils, coffee beans, teas,
exotic apple ciders, quiches, soups, steamed puddings, herb, spices. Pies,
Mexican chocolate. Stop and sample a cube of cheese or dip a piece of
bread into an artisan olive oil. Inhale the aromas of a dozen different
foods being fried, steamed, slowly cooked. Pause at one vendor to
contemplate the purchase of “organice spices from hell” or “organic herbs
from heaven.” It makes you want to move to London so that you can take a
huge sack of fresh, organic foodstuffs home with you and cook up a storm.
More information
With the solid presence of
major book publishers and cultural institutions (e.g. London University
and the British Museum), Bloomsbury entered the 20th century
with a pronounced reputation as a center for literary sorts. Add a
Georgian mews here and there, the musings of the “Bloomsbury Group” (a
legendary circle of writers including Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey) and
some, book shops, pubs and cafes.
Queensway is a street where
you can get things done. Yes! We dare to tell you things other sites
wouldn’t dream. Like where to find a launderette in London. Who wants to
traipse around with dirty knickers all the time. Perhaps Traveler is
strange; but little satisfies Traveler more than doing washing up a load
while on the road. It hits the independence buttons. And maybe there’s a soupçon of rampant thrift. Why pay hotel
prices to uphold the virtue of clean clothes?
Central Wash, 184 Queensway Street,
declares it is London’s first coin-op. It’s open seven days a week (8am 10
pm).. It’s near the corner of Westbourne Grove and Queensway, and the
nearest tubes are Queensway and Bayswater. Ask for Jack. He is a gem and
his customers adore him.
There are several Internet cafes along
Queensway. They cost 50 pence per hour. (Hotel business center hookups
cost about £4 per 15 minutes.) You can sip a cappuccino while you marvel
at how you can receive your spam even in London. There also are
international calling centers. An attendant assigns a phone and you pay
when you are through. A UK to US call is 15 pence a minute.
There is the theatre of the streets and there
is the living theatre, West End Theatre, London theatre. You
even can see the god-awful Andrew Lloyd Weber works before they come to the U.S.
shores. Fortunately there are other choices.
Donmar Warehouse
Named after Donald Albery
and Margot Fontyn. The two used it as rehearsal space for the London
Festival Ballet Company. Previous uses of the space, dating back to the
late 19th century include a storage of hops for a local
brewery, a film studio and a warehouse for ripening bananas. Its current
life began in 1990 with the hiring of Sam Mendes as artistic director of
the theater. The current artistic director is Michael Grandage.
This season's productions
were the world premiere of The Cut by Mark Ravenhill—
directed by Michael Grandage,
with Jimmy Akingbola, Emma Beattie, Tom Burke, Deborah Findlay
 and
Ian McKellen. (It ran 23 February - 1 April 2006); Phaedra by
Frank McGuinness (after Racine) — directed by Tom Cairns,
with Linda Bassett, Sean Campion, Michael Feast, Clare Higgins, Lucy-Anne
Holmes, Paul Nicholls, Marcella Plunkett. (6 April - 3 June 2006); A
Voyage Round My Father By John Mortimer —directed
by Thea Sharrock, with Joanna David and Derek Jacobi (8
June - 5 August 2006) and the world premiere of Frost/Nixon by
Peter Morgan, based on the David Frost interviews of Richard Nixon —
directed by Michael Grandage,
with Michael Sheen (10 August - 7 October 2006). For more
information, click here
TKTS
And if you'd like to
take in a West End show. you can get cut-price theatre tickets for a great
range of productions on the day of performance at the tkts booth, located
at Leicester Square Piazza. The booth sponsored by the
Society of London Theatre, is open Monday-Saturday 10 am-7pm and
Sunday 12-3:30.
More information.
Theatre gives news
insights; but you'll find a really fresh look at the world near the
Marriott County Hall. Fishies from all over the world come to the
London Aquarium to look
at people standing on the other side of the plate glass. . Perhaps the
plural of the London Eye
is the London wheeee. The 443-ft. high ride carries its status as the
world’s largest Ferris wheel with due authority and humility.
All this gadding about makes Traveler hungry. Here
are several remedies.
The India Club
Certain restaurants
distinguish themselves with timeless qualities. Up two flights of creaky
stairs, you’ll feel you’re going back into a very dear, almost lost part
of London. Those stairs have been trudged for years and years (since 1950)
by people who knew that they would get a good Indian meal at a good price
in a friendly atmosphere. Every time we come here we see people we’d love
to know – writers and other verbal types, local business people, dear
friends meeting for lunch, world travelers and the dedicated staff of
nearby India House, the awesome building Londoners go to get their visas
for India.
At a time when London
restaurants are flexing their muscles and busting your wallets, it is a
pleasure to know you can order a huge meal for two vegetarian people for
£13. (If you want booze, bring your own.) The current owner of the
50-year-old establishment has been there for eight years. It is a cozy
room, but you do not feel crowded, the waiters all smile at you and bring
you a pitcher of water. Your meal may be delivered to your table via some
pretty historic grey metal trays, Do get a look at them. Razzle dazzle
and glitz have their place, but sometimes we also like to go humble, and
real, and go where we can order good solid curry with integrity, and it
tastes good too. The dishes are prepared slowly and taste like it. Just
like Rama used to make. The lemony walls are adorned as they have been for
years with pictures of Gandhi and Nehru and Rabindrath Tagore 143 Strand,
WC2.
(020) 7836 0650 7The Strand It’s open 7 days a week from noon to 2:30 and
6-10 plus.
Govinda
Govinda’s pure
vegetarian restaurant and takeaway 10 Soho StreetW1D 3DL 020 7437 5875
Okay they’re hari krishnas, but you don’t have to shave your head to enjoy
healthful, tasty , portions of a decent curry, lasagna or other veggie
treats. more
information
The Place Below
 The
Place Below is in the crypt of St. Mary Below Church, street
called Cheapside EC2. tube stop is St. Paul or Bank. Open Monday to Friday
only 7:30 to 2:30. It’s actually quite cheery as crypts go. The place
Below is one of those marvelous wonders, one hopes to find. The very
workaday, humdrum, normal surroundings and buzz, crypt notwithstanding is
the home of a great variety of freshly prepared, tasty, strictly
vegetarian, inexpensive meals. There’s just enough virtue in the air to
let you know you’re doing a good thing for yourself; but not too much
virtue to pale the thrill of scarfing lunch down.
 Make
no mistake. When you dine in Pearl, you are indeed having a gem of an
experience. Who ever thought you could transform butternut squash into
gold, beets into rubies and parsnips into platinum. The restaurant is
located in the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, on the site of the Pearl
assurance company’s erstwhile banking floor.
Head chef Jun Tanaka has
gathered not so much of a staff as a cult. Eager to please the master.
Eager to educate and serve the diner/knowledgeable attentive staff.
Pearl strands of Pearls
wafting up to the ceiling in columns.. To heighten the magic, a circle of
light glows on each table top. The light actually radiates from below
We were so shocked at how
delicious the first bite was we burst out laughing. Rocket, cauliflower,
pearl onion, baby carrots and mushrooms all marinated lightly, yet still
maintaining each vegetable’s own distinct flavour.
There was the passionate
beetroot tart. Different dishes had tiny little daubs of purée.
Tanaka plays with the shape
of the dishes. Even the angle at which the dish is presented to you
indicates he has a love of geometry and when the honey roasted parsnips
came standing in forest of cones, it was the blessed marriage of food
and quantum physics.
An adorable small soup bowl
looked like a Saturn cut in half, smooth and white, or perhaps an inverted
flying saucer. The chef chose all the crockery carefully. Another example:
A long ovoid plate which the waiter took care to place in front of
Traveler at an 150° angle. The main course was some kind of roasted
vegetable and butternut squash enrobed in glazed pastry case, so delicate
and delicious it sends shivers down the spine. To this day we do not know
what was in it but it was incredible. And for dessert, there was
cranberry granita atop vanilla yogurt.
For he hath taken the most
humble and placed it on a seat next to him in heaven. For these are the
most humble of all the vegetables and he has made them the most
heavenly. Perhaps it is true that the meek shall inherit.
Pearl Restaurant and bar
252 High Holborn ST. London WC1V 7EN
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