Our unexpectedly late night surprised our hosts, who had apparently waited up to lock up after us. I thought that was a bit weird since we have our own key and we're adults who may be out late, if we choose. They also must not have heard us when we explained how long we're staying, because they were upset we did so little yesterday, and when we reminded them we're here for a month, we were showered with brochures for various attractions. Alice is getting pretty upset with the way they fuss over us, but it doesn't bother me. I will eat until I'm full and be out until I come home and not worry what anyone thinks about it.
Our taxi arrived early, so we were kind of rushed getting out the door this morning, which irked Alice even more.
Today we went to the National Gallery. I love art galleries, and this one was gorgeous. Alice and I split up since I like to start at one end and work my way through and she likes to look at everything as it comes. I knew my mother would love this gallery as soon as I got to the earliest works on display. When we were at the National Gallery in D.C., she touched an icon painting that was over a thousand years old and was chased out of the room by a security guard. I'd love to show her everything I'm seeing in England, but I can't take her anywhere! I loved the Holbein works on display, and the portrait of Mme. de Pompadour, the portraits of Richelieu, the Execution of Lady Jane Grey, I had seen a Goya exhibition in D.C. and enjoyed seeing more of his work. Van Eyck has his own room, and like everyone else, I gloried in standing in front of his "The Arnolfini Wedding" and imagining that I'm the third person reflected back in the mirror. I bought quite a few postcards, since photography is not allowed, and I also bought a guide book for my mother and a leather document holder for an artist friend of mine.
I took some sneaky shots before chickening out.
We finished off the day at the aquarium, which I enjoyed. I love aquariums. This one had a mirror maze in it that made it look like you were in a tropical rainforest. We attempted to surprise the puffer fish into expanding, but had no such luck.
After the aquarium came dinner, or what we've come to call the Great Restaurant Hunt of '09. Alice wanted to check out a restaurant she heard praised by Anthony Bourdain, but when we found it, it was already closed. Instead we went to a really good vegetarian restaurant that I liked a lot, but left Alice nonplussed. I had the field roast with potatoes, steamed vegetables, bread pudding and gravy. It's called Eat and Two Veg, and I recommend it for stick-to-your-ribs kind of food, which I like. All delicious, I was stuffed!
On the way to the Tube station, Alice got bodychecked by some jackass who was probably trying to pick her pocket, but neither of us keep anything in our pockets anyway. He didn't get anything, but the encounter left us in a funk for the rest of the evening.
We're switching to our next bed and breakfast tomorrow, so we've decided to miss our first day of field training, which David has assured us won't be a problem. We have no idea where this next place is, and it would be a bit much to have to do both.
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