On Saturday afternoon, we walked around London a little. The London Jazz Festival was taking place, so we tried to go to a show from that, with some friends of Jason's. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, it was sold out. To regroup from this tragic derailment, we did the only thing one can do in such a situation: we went to a pub. Then a psychotic, packed-house, screaming waitress Italian restaurant. Then a very hip club called the 12 Bar. The 12 Bar tiny, and dingy, and, in general, exactly the kind of place I enjoy. That night, it was the host to the seasonal Antifolk UK Festival. Jason described it as though, "they let the freaks out for a night and put them up on stage." We heard ukulele and screaching and bubbles and party poppers and drunken ramblings concerning deadly scorpions, digital accordions, and time-travel in DeLoreans- all in one song.
We tried to go to Westminster Abbey on Sunday, but it was closed. However the National Portrait Gallery was open, and showing an Annie Leibovitz exhibition, which was absolutely badass. Later, we saw the Robert Mitchell 3io as part of the London Jazz Fest. They did a cover of "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, and I nearly crapped my pants in excitement. That night I watched the second half of Superbad, all of St. Elmo's Fire, and a short documentary on Howard Hughes. Before I went to bed, I stood on the balcony of the apartment and breathed in the air and view coming off the Thames.
Monday, I went out with the specific goal of overwhelming myself, and did not fail. Among other things, I:
-toured the gorgeous Westminster Abbey and saw all the cool dead people there (there are a ton),
-checked out the 1700-1900 portion of the National Gallery (Van Gogh, Renoir, Seurat, Monet, Cezanne, etc.),
-still in the arty mood went to the Tate Modern (Lichtenstein, Picasso, Rothko, etc.),
-Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (a reconstruction of the Elizabethan playhouse), and
-experienced the London Underground at rush hour on a Monday. INSANE.
Particularly during the art galleries, I wanted Susan and Kate around.
Then came Germany...
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