Wednesday, June 11

V&A Tippoo’s Tiger – Use Google to get an interesting story. But avoid the two very boring posts on the V&A site.

This was Danita’s day. We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which focuses on art and design. We started with a 1-hour docent introductory tour. She was so good at her job that even I got interested. After that we wondered around until Danita took pity on me and we went to their cafe for a very good lunch. Then it was off to the National Gallery to see Nelson’s butt and some artwork. I spent my time going through the Impressionists exhibit (which was amazingly small, considering the stature of London’s premier art museum). When Danita was ready to leave, she came to find me. We decided to take some time off and just rest in the hotel for a while.

Taxi Strike

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a long line of Taxis all queued up. This was the Taxi strike against UBER (an internet / smart phone ride service) that made international news. Before the strike started, the cabs were all properly queued up. Drivers were standing around outside their cabs, enjoying the wonderful weather, chatting amiably. We approached one driver to see where he got his ice cream. He cheerfully let us know, then cheerfully answered our questions about the strike. The drivers weren’t dumb. The strike was at mid-day. They were all back at work at the end of the work day, when the demand for taxi service is high.

Hyde Park

After dinner, we took the metro to Hyde Park and walked around the lake. We saw a fabulous rose garden, the Lady Diana memorial fountain, and of course lots of people enjoying themselves. We took so many trips on the metro that our Oyster card maxed out. Our return trip to the hotel showed a charge of “0.00”. Woo-Hoo!

Hyde Park