Thankfully, the good weather from yesterday held up and we had another rain and cold free day in London. We started off at the
National Gallery which had several Seuracs, Monets, and Degas that I enjoyed. They even had Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Chair painting. We also stopped by the room where
Bond meets Q in Skyfall, though we weren't able to take pictures.
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| The National Gallery |
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| Which is right by Trafalgar Square |
We originally planned to do the National Portrait Gallery after, but I was really hungry so we headed to
Franco Manca for some really good sourdough pizza.
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| Meat Lovers and Cheese. So good! |
Next up: Notting Hill. We stopped by Jamie Oliver's
Recipease first to look at all the cute kitchen stuff and salivate over the pastries.
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| Recipease |
Then it was off to Portobello Road. The market wasn't in full swing since it was almost late in the afternoon, and it wasn't a Sunday. The last time I
visited in 2009, it was a crowded and fun Sunday market.
We stopped by the pretty
Hummingbird Bakery for some sweet treats.
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| fudge brownie & red velvet |
We ended the night at
Shakespeare's Globe to watch a play. The Globe is a modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre used by Shakespeare's playing company back in the days. They have a stage much like the original one, complete with a yard where you can stand to watch the play, much like the peasants and lower classmen would do in Shakespeare's days.
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| Standing room only :( but it was fun :) |
Standing tickets to the yard are cheap (£5) and actually offer the best view of the stage since you're up close. The only downside is of course that you have to stand the whole show (you can sit on the floor during intermission), and you just have to pray that someone tall is not standing in front of you.
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| View of the stage |
We watched
A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a twist! When we arrived, Ange realized that there were several people signing. When the show started, we realized it was a signed performance. It was actually really interesting. At first Ange and I thought there would be a sign language interpreter, but most the whole play was in sign language. There were a few scenes where Puck would narrate a monologue, and another few scenes where the fairies would narrate while the main actors were signing. At either side of the stage there was also a small sort of marquee that would flash parts of the storyline (eg. "Hermia and Lysander run away to the forest to elope" or "Oberon decides to steal the orphan boy from Titania") to help the rest of the audience understand what was going on. The actors dramatized their actions even more, and the play is a funny one to begin with. It was a really enjoyable experience!
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