London: Day Three; so many museums so little time!

 March 18, 2023

My travel days generally begin as most mornings at home, in bed with yogurt and a cup or two of black tea. I find it important to digest my activities of the previous day and plan for the day ahead. Today, I finally hit the street at 10:30 am and walked less than a mile to the Victoria and Albert museum (V&A). The shops along the way are charming. London still has several privately owned bookstores, sidewalk flower stalls, cafés where patrons sit in tables out side (rain or shine) and neighborhood farmers markets. Bakery shops always catch my eye and there are so many to choose from. 

The V&A is enormous.  One impressive exhibit after another, each beautifully displayed. And might I add that, unlike the US, museums are free! So it gives patrons an option to have a no rush experience and return as many times as one desires. 

"The Tube" (subways stations) are plentiful and offer discounted "contact-less" easy transport.  Assistance is available to safely guide you to your destination.  No standing and waiting to get a ticket. Just tap your credit card to enter and exit. Amazing! Because of various protests around the town I took the subway to the British museum. Cabs are slow and not cheap. The Tube is fast, clean and seems very safe. 

The British Museum is another gorgeous, impressive building with Roman exterior giving way to a modern inner space that reaches several stories. Here I was mostly interested in the Egyptian exhibits which must be visited with much more time and concentration than I had. Several rooms and floor space house these permanent exhibits.  We had evening tickets to the Sondheim Theater to see Les Miz and plans to eat in nearby Chinatown.  

Dinner was delicious but too rushed. I loved the tastes of the dishes we ordered. Crispy duck with pancakes, ribs in a sweet, spicy sauce and succulent steamed wontons. We ended up grabbing much of it "to go" only to have to surrender it at the doors of the theater "Sorry but you can't bring this in. We will put it outside for the homeless." I was very disappointed that my midnight snack was confiscated!!  

However, the production of Les Miz was so fantastic that I soon forgot about that delicious food. I've seen Les Miz several times in many cities over many years and each time I experience something new! The theater was small, intimate, and ornately pretty! 

Our evening continued into the wee hours with a walk, a drink at The Landmark hotel and more reminiscing about our lovely evening and making plans for the next day.