Gallery Excursion

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday our visiting friend Teresa and I went to the National Gallery. It was another "wow" moment. In fact, there were many moments. It is an astonishing collection of art and a must-see in London. I remember going there in 1973 when I came to London by myself at the naive age of 19 and being completely amazed.

We wandered the gallery for an hour and then had lunch in the cafe which is like walking into the past, it's really cute. Then back to finish the other wing of the gallery which continued to be completely wonderful. The gallery itself is also a beautiful work of art, the interior is really gorgeous.

In the evening, we went to dinner at Asia de Cuba at St. Martin's Lane Hotel. Although the menu is identical to the Asia de Cuba's in Los Angeles and San Francisco, both of which we have been to, the food here is really superior, in my opinion. The service was also outstanding although when John ordered a 1996 bottle of champagne they brought him a 1998 which he declined.

In the bathroom, I pushed on the door to an unlocked stall and two women's voices expressed their dismay. Two voices? Hmmm. What does it mean when you walk into a ladies room and there are two women in an unlocked stall? Yea. Sniff, sniff. I suggested in a loud voice that they might consider locking the stall and then moved on.

As wonderful as the food is, the restaurant is incredibly noisy, with obnoxious pop music (as opposed to good pop music) playing way too loudly. So everyone is shouting their conversations at each other which makes it even more noisy. Which is a pity because if the atmosphere were turned down a notch, ok two notches, it would be an elegant experience instead of a loud, obnoxious experience. We seem to be the only ones who minded, though, because the place was packed.

When I took a photo of Teresa the waitress informed us that photos were not allowed. Ok, well that's it for Asia de Cuba. Pity.