If yesterday was a day of surprise and delight, today was a day to slow down and pay careful attention…
Once again got off to a slow start (do you see a trend here?) and didn’t get out of the micro-room until after 11am. Since my lunch reservation was at 1pm, I had a small bit of time to fill.
I decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum after all, reasoning that even though I could spend only 45 minutes there at the most, I’d at least get to see something.
What do you do if you only have such a short chunk of time to spend in a place where you could theoretically spend all day? The temptation is to do some kind of museum blitzkrieg, quick-marching through a couple galleries and snapping photos like a madwoman. It also would be wrong.
So I took my time, strolling to the central courtyard, stopping to watch people and snap a few photos. Then carefully and calmly going through one gallery, only looking at about a dozen things, but pausing to study and reflect.
Slow down… Pay attention…
I set a timer on the iTouch to tell me when to leave. At that point, I did rush like a madwoman to my next destination - Claridge’s, where I had booked lunch at Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant.
Lunch really deserves it’s own post. In the context of this particular screed, the whole experience of it - the food, the surroundings, the service - begged, nay demanded, that every moment be savoured.
Slow… Down… Pay… Attention…
After lunch, I headed off to the National Gallery, which sits right on Trafalgar Square. I only saw Trafalgar Square briefly last year, from atop a tour bus that whipped past at 40kmh or so. But now I was right here, and it was easy to get overloaded. So much going on all at once.
Slow.
Down.
Pay.
Attention.
Statues. Buildings. Pigeons in flight. Tourists speaking half a dozen languages. Sounds of traffic. A stiff breeze. Spray from the fountains. Even though the clock was ticking, and the gallery would close in a few scant hours, it was necessary to take everything in…
All worth it.
The gallery was lovely. I only went through a few sections, focussing on Renaissance works. Definitely worth another visit or three.
After that, I strolled down Whitehall - again just trying to absorb as much as possible - then doubled back via the Tube uuto hit the National Portrait Gallery, which was open late. Also worth it.
What a great day.
Once again am writing this in the hotel bar. Need to go to bed soon, as I’m catching the Eurostar to Paris in the morning.
G’night.
