London: Part Two

There's so much to see in this huge city.

Day two began with a stroll around Camden Town and nearby Kentish Town. The high streets were lined with shops of all kinds. I eventually came to Kentish Town Station where I caught the Tube into Central London.

The remainder of the morning was mostly spent wandering around in Soho, which is full of record and clothing shops. The streets are narrow and buildings are typically about three storeys so it has a really cosy feel. It very much reminded me of SoHo in New York, though the two districts derived their names by different means. London's Soho is named for the hunting cry "So-Ho" as the area around Soho Square was a hunting ground many years ago. New York's SoHo is the area lying South of Houston Street, hence the shorthand name.

Eventually I came upon the Palace Theatre, home to Monty Python's Spamalot, the hit Broadway musical now playing in the West End. I had hoped to see the show but was not willing to pay too much for a ticket. A visit to a discount ticket counter the night before had proven futile as the only seats available had a restricted view. At the Palace, the box office told there were some ₤15 and ₤20 tickets available in the balcony. I asked if the views were restricted and she said no, so I decided to go for the ₤20 seat. The show was to begin at 8:00pm.

Around 11:30am I made a call to fellow U of M Architecture alumnus Johan to arrange lunch with him and his wife Christine, who had graduated with me from the Landscape Architecture program. We set a meeting for 1:00pm at Waterloo Station, which would prove to be somewhat confusing but it worked out in the end. We headed to a Thai place in Southwark. It was a good lunch, and again good to see some fellow Canadians.

In the afternoon I headed eastward down along the Thames toward the Tower Bridge. The waterfront is a great walk with all kinds of little treasures along the way. The path weaves in and out from the water's edge and plazas and arcades dot the way. Eventually I got to Tower Bridge and began to walk across. Tourist that I am I paid the ₤5.50 to go up to the exhibition, which is well worth the money. The view from the walkways is great. Though not as high up as the London Eye, the setting sun made for a picturesque panorama.

I walked by the Tower of London on the northern bank and headed for the Underground, coming out at St. James Park Station, a few blocks from Buckingham Palace. The sky was getting darker by this point and the facade of the palace was lit up. The Union Jack flying above told me that the queen was not at home. She probably had her feet up in one of her other castles at Windsor or Balmoral.

I started playing around with some long exposures on my camera and decided to head back down to the Houses of Parliament to get some good night shots, complete with the red and white streaks of long exposed taillights and headlights. By then it was time to pop back to the hostel to drop off the baggage before heading back to The Palace for Spamalot.

The theatre is quite grand. It was nice to be back in a theatre again. It reminded me of my days at the Pantages in Winnipeg. The show was very funny. It was a semi-re-creation of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail with some other Pythonisms added in. It also had a witty mockery of musical theatre itself imbibed in it, which really upped the Python factor. Unfortunately the box office attendant had not been entirely honest with me. The view was restricted, as the very front of the stage and the area above the stage where some projections were occurring, were not wholly visible.

I grabbed a coffee after the show and headed back to the hostel. Another day done. Friday will be gallery day: Canada House, the National Gallery and hopefully back to the Tate Modern. More on that after it happens.

Cheers.