A bit of Chekhov

Another day in London today - my hotel is in Westminster so I spent the morning walking around the area, past Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and along the river. I wonder why I like London so much? It’s so different from the sea and mountains that I love in the north west of Scotland. But I do like the sense of history that London gives me, and the feeling of being in the beating heart of such a large city. There’s so much to do and see. I deliberately went for a wander rather than planning my route and soon found myself at the Tate Britain. I went in to visit the pre-Raphaelites and then realised that there are lots of Turner paintings (I had forgotten that they were there!) so I have certainly seen plenty of Turners over the last few days. After strolling around perusing the paintings I decided to visited the cafeteria downstairs. But then I noticed the Rex Whistler restaurant across the corridor - tablecloths, silver cutlery and ambient music it seemed like my kind of place! Soon I was settled in with my Kindle beside me, enjoying a delicious light lunch. In the afternoon I walked and walked, making my way to St James’ Park, Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Piccadilly, and Leicester Square on my way to meet Cat for dinner the nearby at Koha Restaurant. The service was very friendly and the waiter was talking about skiing in the Cairngorms. The food was very good too. This evening’s play was Uncle Vanya starring Toby Jones at the Harold Pinter Theatre. I have never seen a Chekhov play before and it felt very Russian as you would expect! A warring family, stuck in unsatisfying lives on a declining estate in the Russian countryside; it was not without humour but ultimately very downbeat. I do love an evening at the theatre!