Oct Week 4
Bird Hunting
Better than any TV program.
The reflection of her face here cracks me up.
Almost got’em!
British Library and the Gagosian
The British Library had a great free exhibition featuring a variety of pieces. Lots of sacred texts from all over, old maps and notebooks of all sorts, and even the Magna Carta! Not a lot of pictures from here, just . . .
An old astrology diagram:
And an anatomy reference saying, “OOOOoooo”
Just around the corner is an old converted train station, St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London.
Not quite ready to head home, I found another museum nearby and got to walkin. They just so happened to have an extraordinary (and free!) exhibit by Damien Hirst featuring a ton of expertly preserved animals in formaldehyde.
A lot of the pieces were pretty unsettling, so I’m creating a separate page with a more complete set of pictures . . . proceed at your own risk!
Caught the sun setting behind the BT Tower.
Later on I caught MV waiting for someone to open the fridge.
The Mall
K has been battling long covid symptoms since the very beginning of our adventures (cough, fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, etc.). Having had some great experiences back in Denver, she went looking for an IV therapy bar. The earliest appointment she could get was at an IV bar in Westfield Mall. They were also able to send off blood tests, which was a nice bonus.
So we made an appointment and headed out! I joined for moral support and to relive my teenage days when trips to the mall were “cool.” The IV place turned out to be a kiosk (albeit with high privacy walls around the IV administration areas) right in the middle of the walkway, which definitely caught me off guard . . . not an ideal location for getting stuck with a needle, but hey if it works, it works :)
Unfortunately, one of K’s medications required a doctor’s review before they could start the drip; after a few hours, they still hadn’t received the necessary response. They were at least able to go ahead and collect blood samples, but, otherwise, the afternoon was a total bust.
The next morning the doctor finally got back with them and confirmed it was safe to proceed as long as they left out the magnesium (interesting since K has had the exact same IV cocktail before with no issue), so back to the mall we went! This time I was better prepared and booked a time slot at Puttshack, an indoor putt-putt place I spotted during yesterday’s wanderings.
It was a short 9 holes, and a little gimmicky at times, but well worth it for the geek in me. Each ball has a tracker inside so they’re able to calculate and show your score in real time, kinda like bowling. They even incorporated the tracking capability into a number of the holes - for example, one had a trivia question for each player which you’d answer by putting through the left or right side of the course.
Halloweenies
After a nice quiet weekend, we went out for another multi-whammy from K on halloween night. Our first stop was St Dunstan in the East, a ridiculously beautiful church-made-garden.
Ever-equipped with peanuts, K made plenty of new friends. Shortly after this video I must have encroached on its personal space because it got really mad at me, chirping like crazy and posturing like it wanted a fight.
Next we headed over to Leadenhall Market for some spooky building decorations:
There was a fun popup shop selling all sorts of monster supplies like chocolate brains, “salt made from tears of hope,” and “bottled london smog.” Browse their wares if you dare at Hoxton Street Monster Supplies
I thought the invisible cat was a nice touch.
The market itself was beautiful!
We also happened upon the very interesting architecture of the Lloyd’s building nearby, complete with a “no climbing” warning.
Back at home I had some help packing for a hike the next day.
And I’ll leave you with a minute long video of the cats bathing each other.
Cheers!
Jump to:
- 10-24 Mon - Bird Hunting
- 10-26 Wed - British Library and Damien Hirst
- 10-27 Thu - The Mall
- 10-31 Mon - Halloweenies