The third day would be the hottest yet, with predicted temperature of 36 degrees (97). I would actually have to use my Oyster Card to get around town as I had pretty much exhausted all the “nearby” museums I wanted to see. I had lunch plans with F, but I figured I had enough time to get over to the “City of London” and see the Tate Modern before noon. Alighting at St. Paul’s, I explored a bit of the old town, and walked along the north bank of the Thames some distance, but not far enough to reach the Tower of London or Tower Bridge.
The Tate Modern, just across the Millennial Bridge and in an old factory that looks like the cover of a Pink Floyd album, has an expansive definition of “modern” dating back to the beginning of the 20th century and even including a giant Monet water lillies. Pretty much all the major 20th century artists are covered, but there are still plenty of WTF modern art pieces too. I didn’t have time to explore all of the free galleries, but popped up to the observation deck on the 10th floor for a quick look at the London skyline before heading to a tube station to get over to Bond Street.
On the Tube, I was surprised to see my Oyster card balance suddenly so low. I was also annoyed by a group of kids playing on the escalator and stopping at the bottom such that I and the three people behind me collided with them. My only consolation was that I had my tucked under my arm pit and I essentially lanced the teenage punk.
I met F outside his office and we walked over to an Italian place for their lunch course. It was a leisurely lunch, but he had to get back to the office to finish up his work before catching an afternoon flight back to Madrid. I took a walk over to the British Museum.
The British Museum was so crowded and so hot. I did not intend to view all of the halls, but it turns out that I did, quickly and constantly fanning myself. I had thought about stopping for water at a supermarket on the way, but I figured there was no way you are allowed to eat or drink in a museum. I had been there before, so the Rosetta stone, the Elgin Marbles, the four million mummies didn’t quite have the sacred pull.
I eventually escaped the museum and took the Tube back to my hostel. I had to add money to the Oyster card and checking my ride history, discovered that the machine hadn’t processed my exit on the first ride of the day, so I was fined 8 pounds. That was such BS. I knew my card wasn’t scanning then. I stopped at the gate held my card to the reader for 15, maybe 20 seconds. I didn’t hear a beep, but the doors never closed, so I assumed it must be alright. Bloody hell.
All I could think of was going to the open swimming in the lake in Hyde Park, but I stopped in the hostel first to drink water and have a cup of coffee. I sat for a while to charge my electronics before eventually packing up a bag and walking on my sore feet to the swimming pool. The Diana Memorial Fountain was a mass of children splashing in the water. The pool entrance had a queue and I waited on line. It makes sense, since there are lockers to control the entrance of people. Unfortunately, after 20 minutes of waiting, the “bouncer” announced that no more people would be admitted for the day for safety reasons. WTF!
I walked back to the hostel and hung out in the cool dorm room, watching half of a movie. It wasn’t much of a comfort when I wanted to swim, but it was fairly comfortable. For dinner, I headed over to the supermarket and picked up a salad, a soup, and a mini-baguette. After eating the simple, but filling, meal in the sweaty underground dining room, I headed back into the chilled dorm room to finish the movie.
| Cash tip at lunch | 3.5 |
| Oyster top up | 5 |
| Oreo ice cream sandwich & water | 2.15 |
| Soup and Salad (at supermarket) | 4.85 |
| Total: | 15.5 GBP (154.7 RMB) (USD 22.49) |
Running Total: 18176.3 RMB (USD 2642.21)
Daily Average: 363.5 RMB (USD 52.84)