Yesterday, we went to the National Portrait Gallery, one of my favorite museums, to see "The Americans," a special exhibit made possible by the refurbishment of the museum's U.S. counterpart.
Some of the usual suspects -- George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee -- were there in painted or photographed form. But there were quite a few you might not expect in this kind of exhibit: the Cherokee Indian statesman Sequoyah, George Gershwin, Tallulah Bankhead and Michael Jackson (by Andy Warhol), for example. A good exhibit.
My son Jay and I had lunch at the Cafe in the Crypt, a wonderful cafeteria in the crypt of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the Christopher Wren church that is one of Trafalgar Square's great sights. It's a little-known place that serves up decent, reasonably priced food and is cozy and atmospheric. I'm particularly fond of their soup-and-pudding lunch special: soup, a fresh roll and dessert. On Sunday Jay and I had bread-and-butter pudding. Mmmmmmm. My sole concession to healthy eating was to forego the custard they pour over the pudding.
After that, we returned to the museum to check out portraits of various Britons from 1960 to the present. Various Beatles and Rolling Stones, together and separately, designer Mary Quant, actors Terence Stamp and Julie Christie and former prime ministers such as Harold Macmillan were among those decorating the walls. One of the more memorable was a photo of the queen that looked like an incredibly accurate portrayal -- until you read that the picture is not of the queen but of her waxwork twin at Madame Tussaud's!
Later, we took the No. 13 home again. Another wonderful trip (see below for details) but this time in stunningly clear, sunny weather (a rare treat in London).
Jay and I topped off the day by seeing "The Two Towers". We liked it. They don't make many epics like this, and they are a rare treat.
Some of the usual suspects -- George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee -- were there in painted or photographed form. But there were quite a few you might not expect in this kind of exhibit: the Cherokee Indian statesman Sequoyah, George Gershwin, Tallulah Bankhead and Michael Jackson (by Andy Warhol), for example. A good exhibit.
My son Jay and I had lunch at the Cafe in the Crypt, a wonderful cafeteria in the crypt of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, the Christopher Wren church that is one of Trafalgar Square's great sights. It's a little-known place that serves up decent, reasonably priced food and is cozy and atmospheric. I'm particularly fond of their soup-and-pudding lunch special: soup, a fresh roll and dessert. On Sunday Jay and I had bread-and-butter pudding. Mmmmmmm. My sole concession to healthy eating was to forego the custard they pour over the pudding.
After that, we returned to the museum to check out portraits of various Britons from 1960 to the present. Various Beatles and Rolling Stones, together and separately, designer Mary Quant, actors Terence Stamp and Julie Christie and former prime ministers such as Harold Macmillan were among those decorating the walls. One of the more memorable was a photo of the queen that looked like an incredibly accurate portrayal -- until you read that the picture is not of the queen but of her waxwork twin at Madame Tussaud's!
Later, we took the No. 13 home again. Another wonderful trip (see below for details) but this time in stunningly clear, sunny weather (a rare treat in London).
Jay and I topped off the day by seeing "The Two Towers". We liked it. They don't make many epics like this, and they are a rare treat.
posted by Jonathan at 11:21 AM
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