London IV

So I've just posted some pictures. It's kind of a drag to upload them, so I interspersed them in the posts where they belong; you'll have to scroll through the old posts if you're interested in seeing them.

I think that the greatest merit of traveling this way (I guess it would define it as traveling kind of ignorantly: though I've got a tall stack of guide books and an abstract idea of what I want to do here, I really know very little about the cities I'm visiting) is that there's endless opportunities for me to be surprised. This has happened everywhere so far--in Venice and Barcelona, coming around corners to find breathtaking cathedrals, and in London to suddenly come face to face with a favorite Jackson Pollack--and it is absolutely thrilling. I've always wanted to see the Taj Mahal, but I imagine that it wouldn't be nearly as great to plan a trip to the monument as it would if I were to trip it unexpectedly.

Last night I had the pleasure of 'stumbling' upon a play. It is called 'There Came a Gypsy Riding' by Frank McGuinnness. I knew of the theater (the Almeida), where all sorts of world class stuff has happened, and I know a bit about Frank McGuinness; but I didn't know that Eileen Atkins and Imedlda Staunton were in it. Though the play has flaws, I think I saw a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Actors absolutely giving their everything. It was truly amazing. I love this.

Otherwise, I'm carrying on with Princess Basket (actually, her name is just Basket, but I like the 'Princess' part). Yesterday I took her off her leash at the park. She went wandering in the bushes and dug up some unidentifiable bone. I then spent upwards of an hour chasing her around a large round rose garden, trying to get her to mind me and give up the bone. She'd have none of it. I know now that I have my share of humility: not many people could take themselves seriously while running in circles around a rose garden screaming 'BEEFY TREAT! BEEFY TREAT!' (with a sandwich bag of poop dangling in hand, too). This was my attempt at enticing the dog to behave.