London (still)

Henry VIII's other suit of armour. This one has a rather frightening cod-piece.
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Still in London, for a few more days. It costs money just to breath in this town, so I've been trying to do some of the free things, which mainly means going to art galleries. Did the national gallery yesterday (paintings up to 1900) and the Tate Modern last week. You have to kind of stop yourself sometimes and take in the fact that what you are actually seeing is the originals of images that you're so familiar with, but have never actually seen. Amazing to see them for real: some highlights were Monet's Water Lillies in Tate Modern (it's huge, about 30 feet wide), and the Rembrant self-portraits in the national gallery. Both galleries are huge and leave you feeling a bit arted-out.

The Millenium Bridge and St Peter's Catherdral, taken from inside Tate Modern
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Also went to the London Tower -- it's more a castle than a tower, and the former royal residence. There's heaps of info and displays on King Henry VIII and his wives in particular, and lots of weapons and armour, as well as the crown jewels, on display.

Cat, who I met on the tour, and I went to see a play called The Vegemite Tales on Friday night. It's about Aussies sharehousing in London, and had Blair Mc-Whatshisname from Neighbours and (Aussie) Big Brother in it. He was actually quite good. It was hilarious, as well as a little poignant, makes you realise that it's not always all roses being away from family and friends and everything that's familiar. Felt appropriate too, a little of taste of what lies ahead. The other thing it made me realise is just how huge the Aussie population in particular and expats in general are here. It's a niche play in a medium-sized theatre, aimed at a very specialised audience, but still, the fact that there is that audience for it (it was a full house the night we went), and that it has been running for five seasons -- there's a lot of us here, that's for sure.

Statue of Charlie Chaplin, Leister Square
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We also went to the London Dungeon -- not a real dungeon as i thought it was, but a theme park/theme restaurant-style tour through all these grisley aspects of English history, like the Black Plague, Jack the Ripper, the Great Fire of 1666, etc., with actors doing their over-the-top best to scare you. It was a little daggy, but ok all the same.

This weekend we're going to head down to Brighton, on the South Coast, then I'll be in Edinburgh from Monday.