The weather remains as we expected with temperatures in the mid-sixties and overcast. A quiet day here as expected which started with getting my first run of the trip and the opportunity to see how huge the bike sharing program is here. We have a superb one in Denver which has come under fire by the Republican gubernatorial candidate as something that "could threaten our personal freedoms." (http://www.denverpost.com/election2010/ci_1567389) It appears that they are at an even greater risk to a loss of freedom here because of their efforts to reduce traffic and pollution and stay healthy.
We visited the Victoria & Albert Museum, lunched at a cute Italian cafe (Orsini) and experienced Harrods. The V&A was enjoyable with our time spent in the glass art, architecture and Muslim art areas. Dale Chihuly, one of our favorites, still commands the entrance area as he did when we visited in 2001. When you are here you will want to at least do what we did and pass through Harrods but basically it is a gaudy, overpriced retail experience. I have tried to demonstrate with pictures from their "Pet Kingdom" department. As I was being clandestine, the pix are not well done and not even in focus all the time but I did not want to risk my camera being confiscated. Dinner was at a lovely Italian restaurant called Caraffini in the Sloane Square area.
Except for coffee for some reason that I am unaware of, prices here are a killer. Food is generally priced in numbers approximating home but that is before the currency conversion from pounds to dollars which whacks you another 60%. It is making Manhattan look like a bargain. Until tomorrow…
Hey Jack, Hope your having fun. You should visit the Soane Museum if you can – different, free and wonderful in my opinion. Let me know if you will be in York at all x
Thanks. Just looked it up and sounds great. We’ll get there. And we will get to York also.