I woke up refreshed and exhilarated. I didn't have anything planned except a trip to the Tate Modern with my new pal Nick. We were set to meet around 3 so I had the whole morning and afternoon to do whatever I wanted.
Spring was in the air. Blue skies, sunshine, 45 degrees, and perfect. I took a walk.
Strolling up the River Thames is like a history lesson. The London Eye, the Aquarium, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey are all stops you can't help but want to see. Check-check-check it out....
I spent a good 2 hours just hanging out trying to get a good picture. Remember, it's February in England. It's supposed to be cold and rainy. Just take a look at the skies. I couldn't believe it.
What to do now? I headed northwest towards Buckingham Palace. I took a stroll in St. James Park enjoying the day.
Buckingham Palace
I grabbed another cappuccino and hopped up on one of the walls at Buckingham Palace and took a quick nap. I woke up around 1:30 and decided to make my way to Hyde Park. I stopped at the Wellington Arch to text Nick to get an ETA when the strangest thing occurred.....
Backstory: I was asked at least 10 times for directions. I guess I look like a local (or just an easy mark).
As I struggle with the piece-of-shit-multi-tap cell phone, an elderly gentleman walks up and asked if I knew where Knightsbridge Road was. That I knew. It was the road we were standing on. He quickly mentioned that he was looking for Harrods, the world famous department store. I had no idea where that was but I told him I had a map.
As I fumbled around with the map, he kept mentioning how nice I was and that he thought I was a local. I laughed and told him I was a Texan. He was from Australia.
Randomly, he says "I'm going to Harrods to buy a couple of cashmere sweaters for a woman I met last night. I just won £4000 at the casino and want to get her something nice" I looked up as he pulled out the fattest stack of cash I've ever seen. Folded over, it was probably 6 inches deep, all £20's, £50's and £100's. He just held it out with a proud grin.
Random.
He asked if I would walk with him towards Harrods. How could I resist. What a story.
He was very talkative. He wanted to know if the £4000 was a good win for Vegas. I kept telling him it was a good win for anywhere. The equivalent of nearly $7000 would make me a happy camper.
How many people live in the US? I say 300 million or so. He says 150 million at the most. "Want to bet £100?" No. I'm not taking this old man's money.
For half a mile we talked about population, the Bush Presidencies, the Australian floods, beer, whiskey, and women.
I left him near Knightsbridge Station and pointed him towards Harrods. I got his name but forgot it. I like to think that somewhere in the world tonight an elderly Australian man is retelling his story about a random Thursday afternoon when a friendly Texan helped him find Harrods. I know I'll be telling the story for years to come.
I took off towards Tate Modern. South side of the Thames across from St. Paul's Cathedral and right next to the Millennium Bridge (aka The Harry Potter Bridge).
The Tate Modern was interesting. I'm not going to get into details but here are some pictures of my favorites.
Derain: Portrait of Henri Matisse
Monet: Water Lilies
Salvador Dali: Metamorphosis of Narcissus
Picasso: The Three Dancers
There was an exhibit that prohibited photos but I wanted to mention it.
Gabriel Orozco
If you ever have the opportunity to see his work, do it. It's amazing and original. For modern art, it doesn't get any better than this.
Google his name or follow this link to the Tate Modern exhibit.
A couple of my favorites:
So we headed back, had a few beers, ate some good food, had some more booze, and then I headed to bed.
As I said.....Glorious London.
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