Hello! Here’s the second half of our London trip. You can read about Days 1 to 3 here.
Tuesday, Day 4
On our first train ride of the trip a few days earlier, I spotted an ad for a David Hockney exhibition called Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away). I learned about the British artist a few months ago while reading the book Funny Weather, and became intrigued by his playful paintings of Los Angeles. A week before our trip, I even scanned the bookstore shelves for a biography or art book on him. Spotting the ad for his show felt serendipitous. The experience was hosted at Lightroom, a new gallery space in Kings Cross, where we could also visit Platform 9 3/4, which was just as touristy as you’d imagine, but an obligatory stop nonetheless. We bought a chocolate frog and Bertie Botts beans.
At the gallery, we descended into a basement where neon lights lit our pathway to a massive room with screens on all four walls. Seats were arranged in the middle of the room so viewers could admire Hockney’s art as it was cast on the walls. Music and his voice narrated the entire thing. It reminded me of the immersive Van Gogh experience, but even better. I got emotional thinking what it must have been like for David to sit where we were sitting and see his life’s work displayed in that way. I quickly jotted down so many of his quotes and then I bought the program only to find his quotes transcribed on its pages. A few of my favorites:
“I have to paint, I’ve always wanted to paint. I’ve always wanted to make pictures from when I was tiny. That’s my job, I think, making pictures, and I’ve gone on doing it for sixty years. I’m still doing it. And I think they’re still interesting as well.”
“You can’t be bored of nature, can you? You’ve endless subjects in nature—endless—if you really look. But you really have to look.”
As if that wasn’t stimulating enough, we hustled over to Soho for high tea at Sketch. A few people recommended this place as a destination for lunch. Our reservation was in the Gallery, a magnificent pink and gold room. Dress code was “as if you’re going to an art gallery.” We quickly had to remember our etiquette.
A very prim and proper server brought us our four-course meal and several rounds of tea. We ate cucumber sandwiches and salmon sandwiches, mini croque monsieur and coronation chicken sandwiches, pear and lavender cheesecakes, lemon battenbergs, blueberry tarts, chocolate eclairs, and bergamot macarons. After scones with clotted cream and strawberry poppy jam, we didn’t have any room left for the cake from the trolley so we boxed it for takeaway. A string quartet played in the background, and we ate in extravagance and ease.
The rest of the afternoon, we shopped for clothing at COS and Arket, picked up a handful of interesting titles at Daunt Books, and walked around Regent’s Park, where I teared up with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our lives.
Wednesday, Day 5
With nowhere to be by a certain time, we allowed ourselves to sleep in. We made breakfast at home and then we finally walked to a coffee shop called Lodestar Coffee, which I had my eye on since before the trip. White and clean walls, beige wood stools, tons of natural light, blue mugs and saucers, and plants. The baristas were also lovely and remembered details about everybody who walked in.
We took the train to Hampstead Heath, a massive public green space with bathing pools and views of the London skyline. We climbed up to a ridge called Parliament Hill Viewpoint to see the iconic views from a bench. We strolled through the gardens and admired the flowering bushes. This park was yet another example of how easy it is to escape and access nature even amidst the bustle.
Growing hungry, we stumbled upon Heath Street Bakehouse, where we ordered avocado toast, poached eggs, and a cinnamon roll. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking a few miles back to our flat in Hackney. It was a simple day.
Thursday, Day 6
I was very excited for this art day. With her membership, Kassie had reserved tickets for the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Tate Modern. She had already been three times, if that tells you anything. I’ve admired Kusama’s artwork for a long time, particularly because she allows her mental health to inform her work and her art is a form of resistance in that way. I think that’s beautiful. The Infinite Mirror Rooms are immersive installations that are supposed to show her unique vision of endless reflections. The first room is the Chandelier of Grief and the second is Filled With the Brilliance of Life. We were dazzled by the second so much that we entered twice. Each room made my heart flutter.
We also wandered through the other exhibits of artists I didn’t know about. I was most taken by the Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz. She created large woven sculptures that became known as Abakans. Each piece reminded me of a different body part. “I am interested in constructing an environment from my forms,” she said. Some were quite haunting, others very playful—like the giant potatoes.
That afternoon, we grabbed lunch—or more like, a bunch of bites—at Borough Market. I highly recommend going hungry because you’ll definitely find one or more things to fill your belly. We gobbled up Scotch quail eggs, a sausage roll, a fried chicken bao bun, and fish and chips. All fried, all delicious. Then we walked it off by seeing the Tower of London, St. Dunstan in the East Church Garden, and Design Museum.
That’s a wrap! We packed a ton into only a few days and there was still so much we didn’t see. My takeaways are that London’s public transportation is accessible and easy for everyone, the British clearly place a high value on art by making galleries free to the public, and respite from the city can be found in any of the parks in every neighborhood. Even the cemeteries.
Above all, I especially loved visiting my friends. They’re doing cool things in cool places, and I’m so thankful that I got to see a slice of their lives in London.