We made the long schlep from Heathrow to our hotel, Bermondsey Square, in a very groovy part of town near London Bridge. After breakfast (Jane had something called an egg and bacon butty, which was good for laughs all day) and a swing on the plastic swing in the lobby, we went straight to the Tate Modern and the Matisse Cut Outs exhibit. Surely one of my favorite exhibits ever. For one thing, the art made me happy. For another, the audio guide was brilliant. For another, the show was so well curated. And I bought four Matisse inspired glass rings for 12 pounds! We snoozed the rest of the afternoon, then woke in time for cocktails in hotel bar before dashing across the street to meet friends at Antico for dinner, which was convivial and yummy.
My roommates here are snoring away, which is making me a little crabby since I've been awake since 1:30. Ah! Jet lag! However even this isn't tainting our most perfect first day.
Today we will go to the Tower of London where in addition to the usual stuff there's an art installation of over 888,000 ceramic poppies installed, one for every British soldier killed in the Great War.
Read about it here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world
-war-one/11021743/Row-on-row-the-poppies-flow-at-the-Tower-of-London.html
