Our first event of the day was visiting the Imperial War Museum. I remembered loving this in high school so I wanted to visit it again. It is located in a suburby area a little outside of the city. We followed signs under an overcast sky for about ten minutes after exiting the tube station. This was probably my favorite museum in London. There was so much to see. There were different exhibits for WWI, WWII, Weapons of Mass Communication, secret services stories and many other things. Here are some pictures.
(this used to be part of the Berlin Wall...)
(these are places hanging from the ceiling of the museum and one of the many tanks displayed...)
(these are figures in a simulation of life in the trenches...)
(this is one of the many interesting posters created as propaganda...)
We left the Imperial War Museum wishing we had more time there but hoping to get to the Vanity Fair Exhibit in the National Portrait Gallery. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived the exhibit was "sold out." How does an exhibit sell out? Don't people just walk in and out? I was irritated because this was one thing we tried to do every day but always got distracted. Maybe it will come to Boston.
We walked around for a while trying to figure out what to do. This city has no public trash barrels. I don't understand this. It is pretty clean too. I wonder if people just hold on to their trash?
Michelle and I took a breather at a cafe by the museum. Michelle bought an $8 croissant and I tried to find something interesting to go see. It was already 5:30 so most things were either closed or closing. We walked around the Trafalgar area for a couple of hours. We stopped to get some souvenirs. I got Joe a "Mind The Gap" t-shirt and Steve some shot glasses. I also got myself a shot glass with a picture of the Queen and some text saying, "To Commemorate the 80th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."
So here's the dilemma that took us forever to resolve. We sat in Jess' kitchen debating what to do that night. On one hand, we have an early flight, still haven't packed, we didn't feel like trekking out in the rain and Michelle only has 8 pounds left. On the other hand, it's our last night here. We can't just waste a night because we have to get up early. As if we were even seriously considering staying in. We decided to join Jess' roommates for one last night on the town.
We ended up going to a club called Metro. Our decision was based on the fact that this club was cheaper and closer than the legendary club Ministry of Sound that was also an option. We got to the club and had to go down a set of narrow stairs, just like in a metro station. There were red lights, red walls and pop art. The ceiling was low and the actual club was small. There was one bar and a small stage to the side. The oldest person in the club was finally younger than fifty. A DJ booth against a wall was sectioned off and housed an older man playing a mix of oldies, motown, and alternative music. We heard Diana Ross, Amy Winehouse, The Beatles, Kaiser Chiefs, the Clash and much more. This club was definitely different than anything we'd been in so far and I loved it. James pointed out "Mods. Dancing. Weird." There were mods, punks, a couple of older men, kids, people in leather jackets and flannel and all jeans and all black. It was wonderful. I hope there is a place like this in Boston waiting for me to discover it.
Metro was open until four but we left at about two, thoroughly satisfied with our last evening in London. We didn't get harassed by old men like in On Anon, which was wonderful. The worst I got was some guy grabbing my butt but after I firmly removed his hand from my right cheek, everything was fine.
When we got back to Jess', we found a pile of pillow cushions, blankets and pillows Jess stashed for us. I'm exhausted. Waking up for our flight is going to be painful.
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