London 2010 – Day Two

March 23, 2010

After hitting the sack at 5:30 AM, I managed to drag myself out of bed by 11:30 AM. I think I may finally be on UK time. It’s 12:38 AM and I’m zonked so that’s a good sign.

Today I headed down to the Olympia conference center to meet Jose for lunch. We ate at a tiny lunch shop across the street that seemed to specialize in serving the conference crowd. I had a veggie and a chicken samosa. The flavor was pretty good, but the dough was greasy and stale-tasting and the chicken was cut into tiny cubes with the consistency of a rubber eraser. But, on the upside, it was quick and our entire lunch tab came to £7.

I left Jose and took a walk down Kensington High Street. What a neat little shopping area. One block had a concentration of outdoor / sporting / adventure shops. I like the idea of a cluster small shops selling related merchandise. Much better than a single mega-store.

Otherwise, a mix of clothing boutiques, stationers, cafes, kiddie stores and cell phone shops. I browsed around in at a home goods store called Butlers Trading and found a few interesting items. The greatest was a bathtub caddy that spans the tub and has a place for a book, a candle holder and a wine glass holder. Whoever designed that is a genius.

They also had decorative silver-plated rocks, which I’ve never seen before. I held them for a minute, trying to imagine how I’d use them at home, and decided they were just another thing that I didn’t need.

Lastly, they had these cool fake grass mats with fake flowers on them. Irresistible. I bought one for my friend who loves girly cuteness just like I do. When I got back to our hotel, I put it under the vase of daffodils I got from Tesco and now we have a moment of Easter perfection on the road. Just need some chocolate eggs.

Before I jumped on the tube again, I dropped into Marks and Spencer. Always wondered what it was like. Seemed like pretty standard stuff, some modern, some a bit old-fashioned. Everything appeared to be store labels – no brand names. And, of course, nothing in my size.

Next stop, Sir John Soane’s Museum across from Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the largest public square in London. Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was an architect and teacher. You can check out pictures of the museum on the internet… unfortunately, they do not allow photography inside. What a marvelous place.

He collected all kinds of architectural elements, artifacts, art and curiosities. The collection is displayed in its original setting just as it was during his lifetime. My words, the photos you’ll see on the web, just can’t do it justice. I guess that’s one of the super powers of an architect – to create a space that makes you feel something when you stand inside of it. I’ll admit, the place actually had me tearing up just a bit. All of the domed skylights, the array of interesting objects so thoughtfully placed, the countless interior/exterior vistas… just go see if you get the chance.

One of my favorite rooms was the Painting Room – a fairly small room with a high ceiling – with the walls covered in paintings. The walls open up like a book to reveal another “page” of paintings behind the first – and open again to reveal a window and an overhead view of his study below. This book concept is such a perfect metaphor because this museum was meant to be an architecture text book of sorts. Due to wars on the continent, it was unsafe for his students to travel abroad to view these architectural wonders first hand.

And, did I mention this museum is free?

What a great day in a great city. But the very best part of the day? Seeing my friend Lindsay.