london, part two.

Okay, so my second full day in London started off with a trip to see the London Bridge and Platform 9 and 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. If you’re someone who doesn’t know what Platform 9 and 3/4, shame on you! Go and educate yourself by watching the Harry Potter films. After a short stop there, we walked over to a Santander branch to close my account. And my goodness, I wasted so much time there thanks to some person working there. I was lined up and waiting for my turn to talk to someone, and mind you, there was only a couple of people in front of me. Some lady is asking everyone in line what they need and when she gets to me, I told her that I need to close my bank account and she was like ‘Oh, I can help you with that’. I assumed that she would do everything but no, she could only do part of it because she ‘doesn’t deal with money’. Fabulous! All she did was submit a request to have my account closed and I had to line up again. Now, there were a lot more people in line and only two people working. I waited a while and finally, it was my turn. But, of course, I had to wait again because the woman needed her manager to approve everything. My goodness, that was the most frustrating bank experience ever! I’m digressing so let’s get back on topic now…

After that stop at the bank, my parents and I headed over to the Tate Modern to immerse ourselves in all things modern art. If you’ve been following my updates or if you know me, I’m a total lover of contemporary art so I loved being in the Tate. Although, it would have been ever more amazing if I had gotten the chance to see the Gerhard Richter exhibition or the Yayoi Kusama one that I’m missing right now. Adding the latter to the growing list of things that I’m missing or will be missing because I’m back in Canada.

Pablo Picasso, Nude Woman With A Necklace (1968)

Ai Weiwei, Sunflower Seeds (2010)

Günther Uecker, Weisses Feld (1964)

Marisa Merz, Untitled (Living Sculpture) (1966)

Michelangelo Pistoletto, Venus of the Rags (1967, 1974)

Do Hu Suh, Staircase III (2009)

Vito Acconci

Richard Long, Small White Pebble Circles (1945)

Abraham Cruzvillegas, Autoconstrucción (2008)

Robert Morris, Untitled (1967-8, remade in 2008)

Pedro Cabrita Reis, The Unnamed Work #1 (2005)

Jenny Holzer, BLUE PURPLE TILT (2007)

My parents and I spent a few hours exploring the Tate Modern, and we took a breather in their café. Unbeknownst to my mom (I spilled to my dad the previous night at dinner), my aunt and uncle were flying down from Northern Ireland to surprise my parents. My mom was under the impression that my friend, Michelle, would be dropping by and she was definitely surprised to see her sister and her brother-in-law! We chatted for a while before making our way to the gift shop so I could buy a few things. I got a bunch of postcards and a great Yayoi Kusama book to appease my disappointment for missing the exhibition.

View of the Millennium Bridge from the café’s balcony

Fabulous flats going for a mere £2 million

Next, we all went to see the Tower of London (just the outside) and the Tower Bridge. It’s such a gorgeous skyline, especially at night with all of the lights. And good thing it wasn’t raining or else that definitely would have put a damper on my mood… After that, we went back to our second home in London - Chinatown. We had dinner at Top of the Town and then, went to my aunt and uncle’s hotel in Soho. Their hotel room was literally the smallest room I’ve ever seen in my life. It was smaller than my room in St. Marks and there was still space for a shower and toilet. Crazy! But the Soho area is great and I could totally see myself living there. Although, I probably couldn’t afford it but a girl can dream.

Tower Bridge

Entrance to the W hotel in Leicester Square

See you next time!