Oh London, what an oxymoron of a city.  As Grace and I were strolling along a lovely street with those white Georgian townhouses, expensive little boutiques and cafes, well dressed "posh" people all about, a young guy stumbled past us and began loudly upchucking all over the steps of someone's house.  It was only about 5pm and he'd obviously already reached his limit.  Earlier we had been sitting in a Starbucks, always a first stop, when a man picked up another customer's iphone right off his table and walked out with it.  The phone's owner jumped up, ran after and confronted the thief who very humbly returned the phone.  The entire exchange was unobtrusive and polite.  So English.  In London you see the most conservative businessmen with their bowlers and umbrellas and the most outrageous cross-dressers and funky haired punks or hippies.  A meal will bankrupt you but museums are free and a theater ticket is under $20.  A one-way ride on the underground is an outrageous 5 bucks, the same as a good, cold pint at a pub.  Oxymoron.

Unfortunately my 2 days went way too quickly.  I could spend weeks just wandering in and out of the museums and parks.  What I love about the museums being free is that I don't feel I have to spend hours seeing every room in order to get my money's worth.  I went to the National Gallery and just looked at the Impressionists, The British Museum to see the Egyptian rooms and the Tate Modern to see Meredith Frampton, then I left.  In my most humble opinion, most "modern" art is crap.  If I see one more pile of rocks, or roll of string called a "masterpiece" I'll throw a tantrum.  Anywhoooo.  Grace and I also went to see a musical called Sunny Afternoon.  It's about the 60's group The Kinks and it was fabulous.  Their story and music are timeless.  By the end of the show everyone was on their feet singing and dancing, young and old.  Now me young one is there on her own with a friend and I'm back here washing curtains.  Haven't had enough of museums yet though, so going to the GAM to see Modigliani this afternoon.  xxoo me

Big Ben and the doubledeckers

Grace

Beautiful spring borders

The Eye on the Thames

Our long walk for today, in preparation for Easter lunch tomorrow, was in Parco Stupinigi.  Stupinigi Castle was one of the Royal Hunting Lodges of the Savoy Dynasty and was still in use up until sometime in the early 1900s.  It is now, and has been ever since I first came to Italy, under restoration and houses an art and antique furniture museum.  The place is frickin' enormous and restoration goes by starts and stops as money comes in.  By the time they have finished, they will probably have to start from the beginning again.  There are large walled in grounds that once had the gardens and woods for the inhabitants but this area has been closed to the public since time unknown because of the precarious state of parts of the castle.  Outside of the walls were the hunting grounds that cover almost 4,000 acres!  That's where we walked today.  No need to say that we didn't cover it all.  The land is dotted with farms that cultivate parts of the property.  There are also forested areas that are tree farms and areas that are left wild.  Everywhere is crisscrossed with paths and dirt roads where people bike and ride horses and take very happy dogs on walks.  The only problem is that it is so damned flat and unvaried.  We walked and walked and walked but didn't see anything more thrilling than a bunch of logged woods beside fields of tiny new trees.  Two days til London!  xxoo me

farm - fields

new trees

Our next school vacation starts at noon on Friday and I can't wait.  For Easter we are doing nothing more exciting than lunch out with Grandmother and Great Aunt and Uncle which means a lot of talk about deceased members of the family. Cheery.  As it's Easter you never know.  There might be some surprises!  On Monday Grace and I fly to London.  I LOVE LONDON!  Grace has decided that she would like to go to college in only two places, Boston or London.  So this next week she is visiting some schools in the latter.  I will only be there for two days as her good friend arrives from Germany on Wednesday and I have been told, in not too gentle terms, that I am not welcome to hang around the rest of the week with them.  Can you imagine?  So Monday we will do a museum and then the theater in the evening.  Tuesday we meet her friend and they go shopping while I check out another museum.  Then I'll have the privilege of dining with the girls, (and undoubtedly paying).  Wednesday I fly out late morning and Grace and friend are on their own in the big city til Friday.  Schools are tough to get into in the UK but if she should be accepted, housing will be an issue.  Tuition is a breeze compared to the US but London is so damned expensive in every other aspect.  In their first year a student can have school housing for the same price of a year's tuition.  But after that they are on their own to find a place to live.  Generally students pile up in 4 or more in a one bedroom, squalid apartment in a suspicious part of the city.  This is something to consider.  I have to say I wouldn't mind flying back and forth to the UK on a regular basis.  I do love it.  Apart from the food.  xxoo me