I had a lovely day today. Geoff and I took the train in to London for the day - the first time we'd been out of Cambridge since before Christmas - and had a good jaunt around Bloomsbury. We started our day at the Wellcome Collection, which is my new favorite place of all time. There are two main galleries, Medicine Man and Medicine something-else-I-can't-remember, that have on display bits of Henry Wellcome's collection and issues in modern-day medicine, respectively. I became a member of the Collection back in December, as I fell in love with the place upon first introduction, and this allows me use of the library as well as a member's-only lounge. Very cool (albeit nerdy) club. Unfortunately, the galleries were closed (as they are on Mondays) but that did not stop us from enjoying a latte from the amazing coffee machine in the Member's Lounge.
[An aside: this coffee machine can do everything from make a steamer, to cappuccino, to latte, to plain old filter coffee. AND it cleans itself periodically! Like I said, it's amazing. I am so glad we don't have one within easy access, as I'd have coffees all the time, just to use it.]
After the Wellcome, we walked through Bloomsbury to get to a restaurant called Ping Pong. It's a dim sum restaurant that we discovered back in December, and happily found it to be a chain with a Goodge Street location. We were delighted to find the good quality food to extend to this chain as well. Oh happy day and bellies! We meandered to the British Library, next, to see a couple of exhibitions in their galleries: the first about the Avant Garde movement in Europe, and the second on the collections of Grace Higgens, housekeeper at Charleston House - the country farmhouse to which the Bloomsbury set (of the early 20th century) escaped the din of London. Finally, we popped round to a friend's for tea and a good chat before we were on the train to return to Cambridge. We lucked out, in that the good weather continued through today. It was sunny, in the low 50's, and tomorrow looks like a misty rain will prevail the skies.
Just a really low-key day, just the thing I needed, and more than what I wished for.
In the spirit of Amelie and of the Avant Garde... I like: home-made bread with margerine, lemony cupcakes, tea with friends, nice food. I don't like: pushy crowds, teabags left on chairs (at the train station).