World Cup? What’s that? Oh yeah—the game with the ball. Today some Real Sport starts. Yes, mes amies, it's time for the Tour de France, so you won’t be getting any sense out of me for the next three weeks.
I no longer feel jet lagged. This is good.
Breakfast consisted of a croissant slathered with butter and black current jam obtained from the cheese shop and signed by the maker. Knowing who grew or raised the food is the rage in Britain right now. The tomatoes I bought at the grocery store on the way home had the farmer’s name. This can be taken too far. I do not want to see: “I called her Elsie” before I bite into a piece of beef. For those of you who may have missed previous blogs: a croissant that actually looks like a crescent is full of margarine and trans fats and should be left on the shelf. A real croissant is pretty straight.
So here it is a summer Saturday in London. Where can a tourist go that won’t be packed with noisy, clueless foreigners like me? Well, I have always wanted to see the Geffreye Museum, which is a record of middle class furniture and interior decoration since the sixteenth century. I tubed out to Old Street where the fun began. First of all there are three versions of Old Street running from the station and I picked the wrong two first. But finally I got on the right track. I mean getting lost in London isn’t bad, but what should have been a twenty minute walk turned into a forty minute walk.
What is more you don’t even have to take the twenty minute walk any more. The guidebooks are Out of Date. There’s a brand new “Overground Station” a two minutes walk away. I took that back.
I must now digress. I thought it was smart coming to London before the Olympic madness of 2012 failing to realize that the preparations could be just as annoying. Three of the central London tube lines were shut down completely. This did not affect me, but I heard much angry complaining from Brits and other foreign visitors.
I decided to go to the Victoria and Albert. Now if I had realized that I would not feel jet lagged, I would have hit the V and A in the morning before the crowds arrived and saved the Geffreye for later. The Victoria and Albert is like a five pound box of chocolate—best not taken all at once. It is free, but they ask for donations, which I find reasonable. I had ice cream in the central courtyard. The label said hazelnut, but it tasted like honey. I’m not complaining. It was good!
When I last visited the V and A, I had not yet begun to teach Art History. My former students will get a kick when I tell them that walking into the place I immediately suffered sensory and art historical overload and meandered here and there a bit dazed by it all. The place is stuffed with Imperial Loot but is more famous for its British Art and Craft collection, which is what I chose to visit today. I had not seen it before because the last two times I was at the V and A it was closed. What do you like? Jewelry? Paintings? Ceramics? Metal work? Tapestries? The objects on offer are superlative.
I also cruised through the “cast rooms” which I used to find impressive before I actually saw the sculptures in person. Not to be missed are Raphael’s Cartoons, a beautiful exhibit of huge colored drawings that were used as tapestry patterns.
By that time Central London was in full summer weekend mode. I tried some retail therapy at Fortnum and Mason. I needed some tea, but I made a point of snooping around the food halls and the perfumery. Don’t worry. I’ll go to Harrods, too, in a few days. I’m not sure the British can actually afford to shop in places like this. Most of the folks I saw were Asian tourists after tea and jam.
I am enjoying an appetizer of rich, meaty Greek olives that have been marinated in herbs while sipping rose and watching the TDF Prolog. I shall soon dig into lovely salad and have lamb meatballs with some red wine to drink.
Cherrio!
What were the rugs made out of at the Geffreye? No, I can look that up. Feels and smells would be nifty, though!
ReplyDeleteI'll follow your walks when I return from today's activities.
The common sort of rug was woven reeds and other grasses which was very coarse but I imagine would help keep a room warm. The middle grade was rough wool or horse hair which could also be used to cover furniture. The rich had finer, softer wool rugs from Western Asia. I do not recall smells.
ReplyDeleteI bet those reed-and-grass mats must have smelled nice when first made--reminds me of reading about floors covered in rushes in fantasy novels.
ReplyDeleteNice that you had the herb garden to yourself--I bet it was lovely!
The drawings used for tapestry designs sound very cool. And what you say about being dazed by the V and A--I find I feel that way sometimes in supermarkets. Thirty-five types of cereal to choose from, and ten types of canned tomatoes! How much nicer when what's dazing you are works of art, and handicrafts.
Asakiyume, welcome! I hope that my experiences are something you can enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing them with me.
ReplyDeleteThe herb and flower garden sounds so lovely. Did you linger a bit? Like the idea of knowing who grew the food and where but how do farmers sign their tomatoes??? Agree don't want to eat a named animal.
ReplyDeleteI did linger inhaling herby air. The name of the grower is on the container so "signing" was a bit of exaggeration. Animals with names are pets not food!
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