Rainy London

I woke up and walked about 20 minutes to the Tate Modern. Opened in 2000, it's a converted power station filled with the modern works of Picasso, Dalí, and other amazing artists. I saw the Matisse Cut Outs exhibit and Malevich exhibit. The Matisse exhibit was excellent and I still remember learning about Malevich's suprematism theories in art history class. The museum had beautiful views of the river and St. Paul's Cathedral. After about two hours, I walked across Millennium Bridge - felt very "Bridget Jones" as she walked across the bridges in London! Here's a photo from and of the Tate Modern:





I took the tube from the St. Paul station to Marble Arch where I met my client and his wife for lunch at the Grazing Goat. Recommended by Sophia, it's an old-fashioned country pub on an adorable street near Hyde Park. We had Sunday Roast and fish and chips. Sunday Roast is what you usually eat with the family in Sundays and is the typical hearty fare of British cuisine. We also enjoyed desserts and tea. This client actually is not whom I here to accompany for market meetings, but rather another client who is starting a train vacation throughout Europe. I had also met his darling wife at Super Bowl, so there was indeed a comfort level and familiarity. Here's a picture of the Sunday roast with a popover, vegetables, and gravy:

After lunch, we walked over to the Marble Arch and through Hyde Park. Hyde Park reminds me of Central Park and we people-watched and enjoyed the friendly dogs. We made our way to Serpentine Lake and to the Diana Memorial Fountain. The fountain was a water ring made of Cornish granite stone with children who enjoyed wading in the water. Here are a few photos:

We then made our way down Flower Walk and past the gaudy Albert Memorial, pictured below:

At the end of Hyde Park is Kensington Palace where several Royal family members live in separate apartments, including Prince William: 

We sat for a few minutes on a bench and chatted away before we separated. They were off to touring more of London with a package tour, then to Paris, Nice, Venice, Florence, and Rome - all by train!

I opted to explore the park some more by finding the Peter Pan statue and the Italian Fountains. Here's a photo of the fountains:

It began to thunder and the clouds were settling in, so I decided to leave early to head to Charlotte Street. This is where I had plans to meet a colleague of mine who is doing a stint in the London office. We met at the Charlotte Street hotel for a drink and then had dinner at Siam Central for Thai food. We sat for hours talking and enjoying a bottle of white wine while the rain drizzled around us. 

Eventually I took the tube back to Sophia's apartment and Gus gnawed on a bone next to meet as I typed away on my iPad. Tomorrow will be last day of sight-seeing before two days of back-to-back meetings!