SIX DAYS IN LONDON, Part 2: Guest Post by Paige Arnold

Shakespeare's Globe Theater, London

My granddaughter Paige, age 12, spent six days in London with her parents during her spring break. She kept a diary of her daily activities (a family tradition) and has written them up in this blogpost. I am impressed with the number of things they did and the detail of her report. I thank her for her excellent report! Part 1 posted last week.

Day five, we went to Shakespeare’s Globe. The tour guide showed us the outside of the Globe.  It’s not the original, because the first one burned down, and the second one broke down.  It’s the third version.  The inside was very intricately decorated, especially the ceiling above the stage.  There are trapdoors on the ceiling above the stage and in the floor in the middle of the stage. 

Ceiling above the stage of the Globe Theater

The ceiling one was used for god-like characters to enter through.  The bottom one was for, well, the opposite.  Characters coming from hell would enter from the ground trapdoor.  In the middle of the tour, we sat down and watched actors practice for their play that they would be performing later for the public.  One of the actors was deaf, so she was acting with sign language and there was a translator on stage for her.   

Tate Modern, Mao by Andy Warhol

After that, we went to the Tate Modern Museum for a little while.  The art there was really, really cool.  We only stayed for a short while, because we had to go to lunch.  We ate somewhere called Padella.  It’s a pasta restaurant right outside of Borough market.  The pasta was exceptional and I would have gotten more, but I was stuffed.  

Footbridge across the Thames to the Tate Modern

After that, we walked back to the Tate Modern Museum and looked at the rest of the exhibits.  It filled my mind to the point of overflowing with new ideas and thoughts.  Then we walked home.  For dinner, we went to a tapas place.  We got many little plates, which were all fantastic.  My favorite dish was the jamon croquettes.  They are deep fried mashed potatoes and ham.  I also liked the shrimp.  It was just shrimp in olive oil with herbs, but it was so good! 

Underground in Churchill's Bunker used in WW II

On the last day, we went to lots of places.  First, we walked to Churchill’s bunkers.  We got very lucky, because the people in the front of the line had to wait 1 hour 30 minutes, but we only had to wait about 5-7 minutes.  The inside was really cool, and a lot of the stuff inside had actually been there during the war.  You had to have an audio tour, so it was really quiet when you took off the headset.  In the middle, there was more of a museum part, but the rest of the tour was just the bunkers. 

St. James Park on a warm April afternoon

After that, we went to Saint James Park so I could draw.  There were lots of people because it was a beautiful day.  There is a small lake in the middle, and there were lots of pretty waterfowl.   

Swan

There was an abundance of storks, swans, ducks, coots, and pigeons.  We just had hotdogs for lunch.  They were pretty good.  

Mounted soldier at Buckingham Palace

Then, we went to Buckingham Palace.  We didn’t know this, but the day before was the queen’s 92nd  birthday. Also, the streets were blocked because the day after was the London marathon.  It was cool because they had the traditional guards with the tall black fluffy hats and red jackets, but they also had police officers on the side.

Nike statue at Trafalgar Square

Next, we went to Trafalgar Square.  There were two floating people in Yoda costumes, and two other floating people in costumes.  

Yoda mime at Trafalgar Square

There was someone in a giant Pikachu costume, and a mime or two.  Oh, and there was also a concert going on.  There was a lot of stuff.

Van Gogh's Sunflowers at the National Gallery

We then took a quick look inside the National Gallery.  They had the famous Van Gogh sunflower painting.  They also had lots of Monet and Murillo paintings.  We took the subway back home and rested for a bit.  After that, we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant called Mango.  The food was spicier than I was used to, but it was very good.  That was our last day in London.  I had a great time there, and I hope some of you will also go there.

Photographs by Paige and Matt Arnold 

Paige and her dad, Matt