Polite guests should never tease their hosts. And yet, we couldn't resist sharing sightings that made us laugh...
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One day, whilst Dale taught class, Darcie walked to the Tate Modern, a gallery of modern art. She was excited to learn about Andy Warhol, Matisse, Picasso as well as lesser known artists. However, there were also exhibits that reminded her why modern art is considered pretentious.
We toured the iconic Tower Bridge which is still in operation as a drawbridge today. London is an incredibly walkable city, so we made a day of it, meandering along the Thames and visiting several other landmarks.
Today we walked to the National Gallery (https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk). Like many of the museums in London, entrance is free. Neither of us is religious nor an art connoisseur, so we sped through about two-thirds of the exhibition. We did recognize and admire some works by Rembrandt; Manet, Monet and other impressionists; Da Vinci and Van Gogh.
We took a train ride to Exmouth, on the southwest coast of England (at the mouth of the River Exe), to visit Darcie’s side of the family. Exmouth is a charming coastal town offering water sports, walking and biking paths, and a small downtown shopping area. Besides a fun opportunity to connect with family, we tried some local food.
Today we walked to Abbey Road Studios, then to the zebra crossing where the Beatles shot their eponymous album cover. Since there were only two of us, we took a photo of the area when 4 Japanese women in kimonos were re-enacting the album cover. Because, why not?
When watching movies like Shawshank Redemption or Cool Hand Luke, have you ever wondered whether you could tolerate solitary confinement? As a devout introvert, Darcie assumed that she would survive, if not flourish. Reality has proven otherwise. Even in the comfort of our hotel room, which includes internet, cable tv, A/C, and a little room for pacing, we are going bonkers.
We traveled to London so that Dale could teach virtual class from the same time zone as his Europe-based students. At the Minneapolis airport, we took the on-site Rapid Covid test, an efficient but expensive ($50 per nostril per nose) precursor to checking in for our flight. Thirty minutes later, we received negative results (thank you, Moderna!), and headed to the Delta ticket counter. The agents also had to review the latest travel requirements and examine our paperwork before issuing our boarding passes. The flight from MSP to ATL was delayed by 45 minutes with a tight connection to Heathrow, so Darcie was nervous about missing our flight. However, the gate agents at ATL were also bogged down reviewing travelers’ documents, so instead of being late, we waited in line again for about 30 minutes before boarding. The overseas flight was run by Virgin Atlantic and was another reminder about how much better overseas airlines treat their customers. We landed at Heathrow slightly early and then queued for 90 minutes for our 3rd round of documentation review. Finally, we Ubered to our hotel, the Marriott Maida Vale. This hotel is perfect for our needs—Dale is able to work at a desk in the bedroom whilst Darcie putters about the living area, which includes a kitchen and washer/dryer. We’re stuck in the room for a 10-day quarantine, which will end on the same day that the UK plans to loosen the Covid quarantine and testing requirements for everyone else. Sigh.
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