Starbucks. They're everywhere. One across the street and two around the corner. You could literally walk from one to the next and never run out of coffee. It seems wrong, somehow, to go to one here when there are so many other choices. Although not as abundant, I feel the same about Pizza Hut and Burger King and, sorry CWB, McDonald's. (Haven't seen a Dunkin' Donuts though!) I believe they should be frequented by locals, just as I guess I would want to frequent the Pret a Mangers or the Wagamamas or even the Costa Coffees and Cafe Neros if they were in the States. Hmm, now there's an idea for a business. . .Wagamama.

Today I went to the Courtauld Gallery and what a treat. They have a fantastic collection that includes Gothic and Early Renaissance, Italian Renaissance, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Modernism, and more. They are located in the elegant eighteenth century Somerset House. I learned that Kandinsky's works from the first decade of the twentieth century were so different from his later style, and that George Braque actually used bright colors in his early, pre-Cubism days. They had a couple of Raoul Dufys that I liked too. But my most favorite pieces were two sculptures by Frank Dobson.

It is interesting to me that one museum's collection can give you an idea of an artist that doesn't hold up at other museums, in that if that museum only represents one stage in an artist's career you may form an inaccurate opinion of their overall work. Okay, here's where my writing falls apart and I can't express what I'm trying to say. But let me try again. If I were to base my opinion of certain artists on this one museum's collection, I would leave thinking I much prefer Manet to Monet, that I do like Renoir after all, that George Braque isn't so bad, and that Frank Dobson is da bomb. A visit to another museum may confirm these opinions or quite the opposite.

Okay, I know this is very elementary stuff, probably quite obvious to everyone else, but I have never claimed to know much about art. I do know when I like something. The same with theatre. So if you're looking for a brilliant analysis of a play or an exhibition, don't read my blog! If you're looking to find out what strange things lurk in the mind of . . . oh never mind.

After the museum I did most of the city walk in the Rick Steves' book, including the Royal Courts of Justice, Twinings Tea (the narrowest store in London), the Temple Bar Monument, Prince Henry's Room (one of the few buildings to survive the great fire of 1666), Temple Church (of The da Vinci Code fame), the narrow, maze-like lanes of The Inns of Court (where lawyers work and law students sleep--we really do create a lot of work for our lawyers, apparently, because there are certainly a lot of them), Fleet Street, Dr. Johnson's House (of dictionary fame), Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Tavern, and a bunch of other churches, including St. Bride's.

The Temple Bar Monument is interesting, as it marks the border between the City of Westminster and the City of London. When the Queen, who presides over Westminster, comes to the City of London, there is a ritual that happens whereby the Mayor of London ("Lord Mayor" I should say) gives his "permission" for her royal highness to pass through.

St. Bride's church has Christopher Wren's tallest steeple. Apparently a baker looked out his window, saw the steeple, and fashioned the first tiered wedding cake after it. I went down into the crypt where they have evidence of the six previous churches that were on the site, discovered after the great fire.

We had the other London-based Skidmore faculty member and his wife over for cocktails before the four of us headed out to dinner at Geales, rated one of the best (and most expensive) places to get fish and chips. They were very good, but Gord claims they are just as good (and half the cost) at our beloved Elephant and Castle. We actually went to that pub after dinner where I tried a Pimms, even though summer's over. (The bartenders told me you could have it anytime, it didn't matter.) It was quite good and a nice end to a pleasant evening.