Tuesday, December 28, 2010
10:28pm
London, England
First on today’s agenda: Harrod’s in Knightsbridge. If you haven’t heard, Harrod’s is THE store in England. You can find absolutely anything and everything there that you could possibly expect of a high-end department store, and then SOME. The best part of Harrod’s, though, is what you wouldn’t expect. On the ground floor level of the metropolis-posed-as-a-store, you’ll find the Harrod’s Food Halls or the Food Emporium. Each room is dedicated to a different food “group”. There’s the meat room, the fruit and veg room, the sweets room, the chocolates room, the wine and spirits room, etc, etc. There you can find such rarities as bottles of wine and brandy from the 1900’s (for the small price of £120,000) and absolutely delicious-looking foods from all over. If you’re ever in London, you absolutely must stop by, even if it’s just to take a look and snap a few pictures. And if you go hungry, prepare to leave even hungrier.
After fighting the crowds at Harrod’s, we made our way to a little café called Patisserie Valerie, just a short walk down the street. This particular café holds a special place in my parents’ hearts. When they were in university, they used to get coffee and pastries there when their limited student budgets would allow it; and even today it was such a treat. The pastries in Europe really are infinitely better than those found in the US. No artificial cream here! Everything is made fresh and from scratch… And forget about going fat-free or butter-less. If you’re going to go all out, you’ve got to go all out. A vegetarian hot breakfast, cappuccino, and fresh-cream chocolate éclair (that was just what I ate) later, we left the crowded Patisserie and walked down some of the winding roads, past more gorgeous old buildings and houses towards the direction of my parents’ old halls of residence during their university years at Imperial College.
London is filled with a wonderful plethora of varied and historic museums, and pretty much all of them have free admission. After a quick walk through some of Imperial’s grounds, my brother, Robert, and my dad left us ladies to go to the Science Museum, whilst we went to the Victoria & Albert Museum. The museum, named after Queen Victoria I and her husband, Prince Albert, houses a huge collection of sculptures, art, artifacts, gowns, and other beautiful historic objects. Ironically, conveniently, and fantastically, the V & A has a special exhibition for Diaghilev & The Ballet Russes going on right now – just up my alley.
The exhibition was absolutely fabulous. There were costume designs, dance footage, programs, sketches, and utterly stunning costumes that were actually worn by the dancers on display, including a whole collection of things worn, used, and created for and by Nijinsky, one of the most famous male dancers of all time. What struck me most about the exhibition, besides its enormity and congruency, was how old the pieces on display (particularly the costumes) were, and how they were in such great condition. These costumes dated back from the early 1900’s through the 1920’s and are still breathtakingly beautiful. The amount of detail and hand-painted, stitched, stenciled, cut, and beaded work is really something to be marveled. The exhibition also made me realize yet again what a special career path and passion I have chosen. I think that it is safe to say that most of the people who were in the gallery are neither currently dancers, nor have they ever been dancers. But what’s beautiful for me to see is that so many people are still totally captivated by the art of dance, and realize that though it may not seem so, this art is really necessary and performs a function that our daily routines can’t. Dance is beauty. And lately I think beauty in life and in the world has been a bit lacking. Seeing people watch the footage of the dancers in the exhibition and marveling over the rehearsal process and behind-the-scenes creation of ballet reminded me a little bit of why I dance. I’m a part of something bigger, and something that people inherently realize that they need. I only wish for this view to expand – it’s not something I’ve really seen in the US.
We left the V & A Museum and met up with my dad and brother in front of the Natural History Museum, another stomping ground that my parents are all too familiar with. My dad used to work in the Museum, and actually once had a set of gold keys that gave him access to all parts of the gargantuan NHM during his studies in London. Unfortunately, the Museum was completely overrun with tourists, so we didn’t go in, but instead captured some gorgeous images of the castle-like outside of the museum in the setting sun.
We then made our way towards another part of Imperial College, where my parents attended university. It’s really interesting to see how different my college experience is turning out to be from my parents’. Of course times have changed, and things are happening on different continents, but the comparison still exists. It was also great learning about the university traditions that existed back when my parents were students at Imperial, and hearing all their anecdotes and memories about their school years.
Just across the street from Imperial’s Royal School of Music is Royal Albert Hall, site for concerts, performances, graduation ceremonies, etc. And just across the street from that is Hyde Park. Unfortunately the park was closed, as it was scarily dark by the time we got there, so we couldn’t walk all the way through it. We took the paths along the roads and crossed the Serpentine Bridge to the other side. A couple of bus stops later, we arrived in another part of town that my Auntie Lucy says “never sleeps”; it’s almost like another kind of Chinatown. There Lucy treated us to a spectacular Malaysian feast at one of her favorite restaurants. Hello, food baby.
It’s our last day in London tomorrow. We’re meeting up with some good friends of my parents’, Jane and Philip, whom we last saw years ago (when I was still in middle school) when they came to visit us in North Carolina. Jane is taking my mum and me to see the Royal Ballet’s ‘Cinderella’. I can’t wait!
More tomorrow, dear readers.
Phillipa
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