This is London...

We caught the train from Birmingham and then we caught the tube. I met my friend Debs for tea and chat which was a thrill. Then we walked over and inside St. Paul's Cathedral. We said good bye to the lovely Debs and then walked in the rain to the Tate Modern. I enjoyed walking over the Millenium bridge over the Thames and looking around at the city. Once inside the Tate Modern we took in the art. We were saddened to find out that a section containing much of the art from the permanent collection was closed. We also didn't want to pay to see any of the three pay exhibitions. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the surrealist selections, the view from the balcony and just being in this famous gallery. We did the Tate Modern in about 45 minutes, almost shameful for two artists to breeze through it in such a manner, but to quote Mr. Smith's son Joe, "it's big but there's nothing here worth seeing."

We popped into a smaller gallery and then continued our rainy but lovely walk along the Thames. We saw Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery (so many amazing and importaint works of art were viewed with awe), a quick stop at the Portrait Gallery, walked through Soho, and then a tube ride to Ethiopian food for dinner (my most favorite cuisine) and we caught the train back to Birmingham.

It was surreal to be in such a well documented city. To walk past Big Ben to hear it chime...people asked me if I could live in London afterwards... I am not sure it is my kind of place, it felt a bit like this... but for a visit it was fabulous!