highlifer

England Day 4

Today, Mike and Amber were going to see Spamalot, so Tom, Montie and I set out on our own. We had decided to go to the Tate Modern. I wasn't sure if anyone would be up for a museum, but all were - Montie had been before. It was great. The Carsten Holler slides were unbelievable. I think my favorite exhibit was the little boxes.Online can NOT do this justice! It was really clever and is what has most stuck with me too. AND I got my Tate pencils back! (I had one once that was taken away by a gatekeeper at Coachella. I was so sad, I loved that pencil! Now I have 3!!)



It actually started raining while we were in the museum, the first rain we'd seen during our whole trip. It was slight though, and we cabbed it back to Soho where we could do some shopping. We ate a good burger with cheddar and drank a pint and got directions to the Borderline
where we were going later to see Dale Watson. Told it was right around the corner from Foyle's bookshop, we found it, then I went back to Foyle's. Or at least the ground floor of it. What a great bookstore! I could have spent an entire afternoon in there.

I also went to the Topshop, a place I'd heard about not only from a teen novel I read, but from the news - both Michael Jackson and Lindsay Lohan closed it down while we were there. Wow, did I heart the Topshop. It was like a bigger, better H & M. Since Tom and Montie were with me, however, I didn't really get to shop too much - but I did get some cool socks and some Christmas presents. Thank God shoes were so expensive in London, or I'd have been in big trouble.

We tried to go to Gordon's again, but it was waaaaaaaaaay too crowded, so our next stop was Leicester Square, where the Casino Royale premiere was ready to begin. Unfortunately, Daniel Craig came first, and I wasn't quite situated, but I did get a glance. We got to see all the movie's stars come in, including Eva Green, Caterina Murino (what an ass on her!) (Unfortunately, pantylines too.) Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Michael Caine, ex-Bond girl Michelle Yeoh (beautiful and the prettiest dress too.) and hilariously, Chris Cornell. Yeah, I saw him at Stache's! Rumors abounded that the queen was coming, but we didn't spot her - as it turned out there was another red carpet on the other side of the square for stars who were attending but not in the movie, that featured Paris Hilton, Elton John, and Sting, among others.

We then met up with Mike and Amber. Amber was craving a steak so we went to the closest restaurant, the Aberdeen Steak House, which I sense was the British equivalent of Ponderosa. Exactly.

Now, off to the Borderline to see Dale Watson. Little did I suspect that it would be sold out! Amber mananaged to sweet talk our way in however, to the very crowded basement bar. It was good fun for all, however, and just so amazing to see the huge crowd of folks, of which I was probably on the young end to average by age! You couldn't get that many old folk out on a weeknight in this country if Johnny Cash rose from the dead. Hearts to England.

After leaving, we really wanted to keep drinking a few. Montie had been dying to go to Camden, so we caught a cab up there, but unfortunately, Tuesday night was pretty quiet there, and our drinking options were few and far between. The bar we decided to hit was actually really cool - The Lock Tavern. I wish I had discovered this place earlier - they have amazing djs on the weekends, including Simian Mobile Disco on the previous Sunday, and Fila Brazilia and Zero 7 (!!!) the day we left. What a hidden jewel!

At this bars close, we headed back to SE1.

posted by jamie @ 9:46 PM