Kathryn Howard Apartments, London, Day 129. British
Museum, Eye, and A Lively Buzz In London
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| (From The London Eye) |
I
woke up to the news that we were moving to another flat in the same complex. I
knew this was a scheduled thing but we had all thought it was Wednesday. Guess
it was Tuesday instead. It was more convenient all around and helped me begin
to pack for my departure on the morrow.
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| Mom Doing the Egyptian |
We
accepted that it was early afternoon by the time we headed out and made the
most of the day from there. My parents bought me a messenger bag for my extra
clothes I’m traveling with and I really appreciated it. Mom did a quick run-in
to see the first YMCA in London, and then a street over was our lunch
destination, a Turkish ‘Tas Restaurant’.
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| Mom's Ingenious Photo Idea |
The
second visit to the British Museum, like my revisit of the Tower of London, was
refreshing without the pressure to see everything I want. I had a blast
actually. Mom and I goofed off in imitating Egyptian statues and then she had
the ingenious idea of having me pose in front of one of the headless statues
with my shirt over my head. As for Dad, this was his big thing to see while in
London and he loved it. I found it odd how much he wanted to see the Egyptians,
but in the end I’m glad that he was (otherwise there’d be no posing). But I did
like his notion of seeing the top floor exhibit on Picasso and his early
drawings. It was interesting how much he drew the Minotaur, with its
association with rape. He also drew quite a few nudes and portrayals of
Rembrandt, a Renaissance artist. His drawing style is a sort of mesh of lines
and curves—or simple bodily outlines. Profound contrast.
Now
came the rain and the hail. Upon arriving outside Waterloo Tube station, my
ears began to actually ache from the pelting balls of ice falling in a torrent
upon the streets of London. I grabbed a free magazine from a rack just inside
the station, stuck it over my head, and managed to save myself from some of the
impact of the hail as we walk-ran through the streets on our way to the ticket
office.
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| On The Eye of London |
And
then Mom and I rushed up the non-existent line and onto the Eye of London. (Dad
has an odd phobia of heights—it’s very specific: heights from ferris wheels
apparently are scary but heights from mountaintops while backpacking are not.)
I loved doing the London Eye again and it was fun with Mom there, talking
about life with the city’s horizon in the background. One part of me found it
hard to do this ride, though. The last time I was here…was with Katya, riding
up and seeing the Thames we had just taken a river cruise on. But there was
still a familiar feeling—in fact, in a strange way, my parents’ trip is a
reincarnation of Katya’s trip but reverse: Paris, Norwich, London. (And the
Paris part was without me, unfortunately. Speaking of reincarnations, though, I
befriended a guy a few days from now who…oddly enough reminded me of my grammar
school friend Kyle O’Connor, in a good way.)
After
the Eye, the three of us gathered ourselves back at the new flat, which Mom
loved much more than the other one: better view, better kitchen, better. (read:
‘better period’.) We collected ourselves and started to plan where to eat, to
finally eat out again which we hadn’t done at night since Saturday.
We
ended up where I had been inching to go the whole time we’d been in London:
Covent Garden. First place we tried was a second-floor restaurant in Covent
Garden, which is, by the way, a mall of sorts, stores line the square structure
along with tea and cupcake shops. Restaurant at capacity. We wandered off to a
nearby street and found Sophie’s Steakhouse.
Dinner.
Was. The. Best. I had ever had in London and have had in a long time. The ribs
were so rich—fell right off the bone. The red wine excellent. The waitress was
spot-on too. All three of us had a really good time tonight, buzzing with the
joy of being in London together.
I rushed back to the flat and skyped Katya until 1am. Then bed.
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