I thought there is lots of construction going on at Bank station and you can't interchange between the tube to DLR there?

You can between Northern Line and DLR, and (if you're prepared to face a bit of a crush in the rush-hours) between Central Line and DLR. District/Circle at Monument is much more difficult, and basically they're trying to discourage people from overwhelming the station.

BTW, slaves weren't actually traded through London in quite the way Apres_Londee describes: the "triangular trade" was slaves from Africa to the West Indies to work on the sugar plantations, sugar from the West Indies to Britain (much of it through West India Quay), and some goods from Britain to Africa on the ships that went to pick up more slaves. That gave a convenient distance for a bit of hypocrisy back in Britain, of course, which tended to reflected in the presentation of history: thank goodness the Museum in Docklands is presenting a more honest picture now.

The Northern line's been running like a dream and we considered ourselves lucky that we could transfer to the DLR without trouble. Circle's been having delays, and on the weekend at least Central wasn't stopping at St Paul's.

The permanent exhibits at the Museum in Docklands do look fascinating, as they trace the history of the docklands, all the shipping and trade including slavery. The warehouse conversion has been done brilliantly, the whole thing is just a wonderful space both inside and out. An entire day could be devoted to the Docklands/Isle of Dogs, never minding Greenwich.

I had originally wanted to take the DLR down to Island Gardens and walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel, but the train wasn't running past Canary Wharf on the weekend and I wasn't so interested in taking a bus. And after lunch, the clock was ticking. I scratched the foot tunnel off the list for now.

The next thing scratched for the time being was Sutton House, again due to time as it was already coming on to 2 pm. Instead, we decided to take the DLR back into the City and take a walk.

We wanted to go to Tower Hill, but low and behold Tower Hill's DLR station is closed until 2009. We went back to Bank and backtracked on the tube instead.

THE CITY

Last year I had printed off a self-guided walk called "The Secret City" from Richard Jones' website. He's some dude who does walking tours and writes guidebooks (including for Frommers). I think he may have a Jack the Ripper book too.

I never had the chance to do the walk on my first trip, so I was determined to fit it in this time. Sunday was actually perfect because it was so clear and sunny, a beautiful day.

Before we started though, we made a quick visit to ALL HALLOWS BY THE TOWER and THE CRYPT MUSEUM (guidebooks might refer to it as the undercroft museum, the church calls it the crypt)

You decend down a steep spiral staircase and come into the crypt, the walls of which are painted red which frankly gives it a sort of satanic feel (if you've watched too many horror films like me that is). It's a somewhat eccentric little museum. Of interest is the remains of a tiled Roman kitchen floor, and a couple of medieval Celtic crosses that were unearthed by the German bombs. There is some Roman pottery, 17th century chalices made of gold, a few war memorials, and what appears to be the boxed ashes of 20th century congregation members. With the red painted walls, and everything permeated with the faint smell of mildew.

The church was/or is affiliated with some group called TOC H which seems something like the Masons but I don't know.

The young Irish guy at the help desk was very nice. The church and the crypt are both free, so worth a drop in. All Hallows is also very close to the free public washrooms at the entrance to the Tower, which can be handy.

Our walk took us past ST OLAVE'S CHURCH, with the skulls on the gate, ALL HALLOWS STAINING, a tower dating from 1320, FEN COURT, a little garden with 17th century tombs, the LLOYD'S BUILDING (which I love) and LEADENHALL MARKET which this being Sunday the shops were closed, but the fanciful Victorian architecture was wonderful to see all the same.

We passed by ST PETER'S UPON CORNHILL and then walked through the little maze of alleyways in behind SIMPSON'S and past the GEORGE AND VULTURE. We sat outside the ROYAL EXCHANGE and walked past ST MARY WOOLNOTH (a fairly ugly church building).

Across the street was a youngish, decently dressed street addict, passed out cold on the pavement. We couldn't tell if he was breathing. He looked so out of place, I've never seen a young guy like that, in my experience it's usually it's the old timers sleeping on those sorts of streets in the middle of the day.

We had a discussion about whether we should dial 999. I was genuinely worried that he might be dead, and it was awful to imagine that he could lay there for hours with no one calling for help. A few other people seemed to be taking a look at this guy, as if checking to see if he was breathing. In the end, he moved. Very slightly, but at least we knew he wasn't dead. I felt both relieved an guilty as we continued on our walk.

We continued past MANSION HOUSE, ST STEPHEN WALBROOK, and took a look at the remains of THE TEMPLE OF MITHRAS.

The walk was only half complete by that point, but our feet were getting sore so we decided to call it a day. We were very slow- the entire walk, according to the website, takes about 2.5 hours. We took 3 hours to do only half (lots of stops for photos, sitting on benches consulting our A-Z, and reading of plaques)

The City is still my favourite part of London, I love the mishmash of gorgeous modern buildings and ancient little nooks and crannies. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk. The itinerary on the website gives a bit of history of the places and many are associated with Charles Dickens. It was a lot of fun and we went home tired but happy. Dinner was tea and pieces of Cadbury's.

Thanks for sharing an interesting experience.

If you like classic music, it might be interesting to know that many churches in the City offer free lunchtime concerts, I have attended some at all churches you mentioned. For instance, there is one at St Stephen Walbrook tomorrow.

ttt

I hope you check out the Bansky that is close to you.

That's a good reminder about Banksy. I'm lying here in bed being lazy and wondering what to do today. My sister went home last night but is coming back Friday night (she lives in a city about an hour north of London)

It looks like another clear and sunny day so far. Yesterday was cloudy with no rain but the air was spitting. We had a spot reserved for the 2pm tour of the western cemetery at Highgate, but stupidly we missed it. We spent too much time at the BRITISH LIBRARY.

I love the British Library and the John Ritblat Gallery. You can gaze at a Magna Carta, pages of the notebooks of Auden, Austen, Woodsworth, Charlotte Bronte, Angela Carter. Music notes written by Mozart. Medieval books. Letters written by Edward IV, Mary I, Elizabeth I. Shakespeare's first folio. Legal documents, religious texts, maps, and diaries. A visit doesn't cost a thing, although it's nice to leave a small donation. Visiting the Library also takes you through St Pancras, which is an interesting sight in and of itself.

We ate a simple little meal at the so called "cafe"- coffee and a mediocre pastry. My sister also had a big bowl of soup, which she said was good. It was nice to sit down with a hot drink, anyways. Lots of people at the library, it seems like a popular place with tourists and Londoners alike.

So, we missed our tour of Highgate. We decided to go next Saturday. We went home to freshen up, and then headed out for another walk.

We took the tube to Blackfriars and wondered around. We walked along the Thames and crossed Millennium Bridge, and admired the gorgeous London skyline. The TATE MODERN is a magnificent building. It was coming on 4:30 pm, and we decided to have another tea at the CAFE ON LEVEL 2 instead of rushing through the galleries. (my sister's been to the Tate Modern before, and I plan to return later this week)

The cafe was very good. We had tea and sparkling water and shared the meze plate and a bowl of chips. Then we shared a chocolate brownie. It came to 25 GBP, and the service was friendly and efficient. The servers looked like students, and they were all French.

The gallery closed at 6 pm. We headed back out and walked from the Modern past the iconic OXO Tower and down to Waterloo Station. Despite the heavy rush hour traffic (vehicles and pedestrians) the area has a village feel, especially around the station. Little streets with rows of uniform naval cottages, converted into private residences. Lots of interesting little pubs and shops. An affluent, yuppie area, but nice. Again we swear to come back someday and explore more fully.

We missed the "Necropolis Railway" near Waterloo station that flanneruk posted about a few days ago, because I forgot to write down the address and it was getting too dark and chilly to wander about much.

We joined the crush of people in the station and made our way on to the tube. Before long we were back in the Sainsbury's across the street from the apartment, picking up a few groceries. My sister left shortly thereafter to catch her train and I spent the rest of the evening lazing about.

Slightly off topic, but I was born on the "Murder Mile" in the Salvation Army Mother's Hospital on Lower Clapton Road! This has now closed and has been developed into flats.

I have always thought that the murder mile tag was very unfair, there are far worse places in London, it was just the bad reputation of the nightclub up near Clapton Pond that gave the road/area it's bad name.

Apres_Londee - Hello? Are you still alive? Waiting to hear more!

Alive, but just barely!

I want to say all this exercise is killing me, but it's what allows me to eat Cadbury's and ginger nuts with impunity. Between the stairs to the flat, the tube, and walking everywhere, you could bounce quarters off my calves. My legs are more achy here than in Paris and I think it may be the damp. I could honestly smell the ozone getting off the plane at Gatwick.

I need to think back a moment.

Saturday, I arrived at Gatwick on Air Transat Club Class. Flew out of Terminal 3 at Pearson Airport in Toronto. Terminal 3 is an embarrassment to the country. I'm not even talking about the scummy washrooms or pitiful shops. I mean the completely unprofessional staff who are all teenagers acting as though they were working at MacDonalds, even at security. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Terminal One is like a different world.

Service on Air Transat was surprising good. Club seats had lots of leg room. I didn't have dinner, but there was a choice from a menu and the food actually looked good. Real glasses, and real cutlery. Nice! I even managed to get a couple hours sleep without drugs.

My sister and I spent a couple of hours on Saturday evening walking around between Bank and Temple. We had set out thinking we'd hit the Tate Modern for an hour or two, but I pooped out before we could get there (my sister lives in the UK so no jet lag for her) We sat for a while on the steps of St Pauls instead, getting some fresh air.

Sunday we spent at the Museum in Docklands and walking in the City. We sadly didn't make it to Sutton House as originally planed. Next time.

Monday we spent at the British Library, missed Highgate Cemetery (we have plans to go to Highgate on Sat now), walked along the Thames over the non-wobbly bridge to the Tate Modern, skipped the galleries and instead opted for tea at the cafe. Then we walked to Waterloo Station and tubed home. Later that evening my sister got the train home.

Okay, now I'm almost caught up.

Tuesday was a bit of a write off. I was starting to feel the beginnings of a sore throat, and knowing I had museum exhibition and opera tickets for later in the week, I decided to take it easy.

I spent the morning lounging around the flat drinking tea and eating biscuits. Then I went out and found the neighborhood BANKSY. It's on Highgate Hill, outside and to the left of Archway tube station, on a curve in a cement wall along the pavement. It's a hitchhiker who looks a bit like Charles Manson, and he's holding a sign that reads "Anywhere".

Kudos to Archway for not messing with its Banksy. Unfortunately the same can not be said for all neighborhoods. I next took the tube to Angel to search for the Banksy's in Islington. No luck. One of them, which would have been on private property, was obviously removed. Another may have been hidden by a market stall. Another I think I may have missed due to a bad sense of direction and heavy traffic.

Islington was a nice area to wander around in, though. Lots of attractive men in business suits out on their lunch. The shops and restaurants were all nice. I walked down Camden Passage with all the antique shops. I saw a man playing a violin. On a tightrope. In front of Starbucks. Lots of people were taking his picture.

I walked down a street market, on a road loaded with bakeries and little food shops. This road seemed to lead to a slightly scruffier neighborhood. There had been some sort of scuffle (on the "nice" end of the road) and the police were there. It was gray and drizzly and my throat was sore. I popped into Marks & Spencer and bought some pick and mix cheese, crackers, biscuits, cheesecake, pineapple cubes, milk, yogurt, and lemonade. Then I went home, gobbled down some vit c, and slept for hours.

Never judge a London street at first glance.

Among recent residents of the "scruffy" neighbourhood at the end of Chapel Market (called Barnsbury) were Tony Blair and his family till they moved into Downing St. Cherie's never stopped whining about the couple of million they lost by having to sell the house then rather than five years later.

Wednesday, yesterday, was far more productive, probably because I finally managed to get my sorry self into an art gallery.

NATIONAL GALLERY

This my was first visit to the National Gallery. I had a prepaid ticket for a 10 am entry to the special exhibit that opened that same day, called RENAISSANCE FACES in the Sainsbury Wing.

I was so happy to be there, I felt like I'd been floundering without a visit to an art gallery to ground me.

The exhibition was excellent, and followed the history of Renaissance portraiture, both North and South. Many pieces came from the National Gallery's own collection, and some from the British Library, but others came from Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Belgium, Madrid, New York, all over Italy, and a few from private collections. Seven rooms in all, plus a 15 minute film in the little cinema.

Here is the description from the free exhibition booklet:

"...Renaissance Faces presents popes to pirates, bankers to tailors, virtuous wives to widows, from Northern Europe as well as Italy and Spain.

The exhibition explores the motives for the varied and vivid ways in which men and women were presented in life and commemorated in death...they were not confined to painting and the works on display here include sculptures, medals, and drawings.

These fascinating and beautiful portraits are the work of some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance both north andd south of the alps, who excelled in portraiture- from van Eyck to Titian, by way of Botticelli, Memling, Ghirlandaio, Durer, Pontormo and many more."

The exhibition was organized by the National Gallery and the Prado, so I expect it will move on to Madrid after it closes in late January 2009 (unless it was already at the Prado?)

The price of the exhibition catalogue was 25 GBP soft cover (80 GBP hardcover) and I balked at that and passed. However, I think I might go back and buy one after all. I enjoyed the exhibition so much, I think I may regret not getting the book.

I spent about 2 hours at the exhibit, including time spent browsing the shop. Then I went to the self-serve cafe at the Getty Entrance for a simple lunch. While eating lunch, I spotted the most unlikely celebrity, walking with her tray to find a table and drink her tea from a cardboard cup like everyone else...

It was JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books and the 2nd richest woman in Britain after the Queen (or so I've read) I recognized her from seeing her picture in the papers on and off over the years. She was casually dressed in jeans, blouse, and scarf, an attractive lady and very well put together. She was with an older man who I took to be her father, as they looked related. No one else seemed to recognize her (at least there was no "stir&quot but then 95% of the visitors to the exhibition that morning and diners at the cafe were over the age of 65.

So that was my celebrity spotting of the day. After lunch, I went back to the Sainsbury Wing and toured the 13th-15th century paintings, then then continued on to the 16th century paintings, then called it a day. I returned to the same cafe for tea and a rest. By that time, it was after 4 pm.

After my tea, I went out for a walk along Whitehall. Leicester Square was in the throes of preparing for an Olympic "parade of heroes" due to start in about half an hour at 10 am today. I strolled down Whitehall, navigating the rush hour pedestrian traffic, and was happy to see Brian Haw still going strong. I poked around taking my time, and by the time I returned to Leicester Square it was past 6pm. I had a seat in the square for about 1/2 an hour, resting my feet, watching the activity, and shivering in the cold. Finally I dragged myself to the tube and home.

Oh, it wasn't necessarily the look of the physical street that seemed scruffy, it was the people, who seemed a bit scruffier compared to the business lunch crowd on the main streets, and the well-off stay at home mom types and early retirees that could be found along the side streets to the north east of the station. By scruffy I mean hanging about in Fila, looking annoyed and unemployed.

Yesterday's headline: London house prices drop 20%

Because Madonna's leaving, no doubt (I actually heard over a year ago that Madonna was planning an on again off again divorce extravaganza for publicity purposes, so it'll be ~mildly~ interesting to see if what I hear was correct)

Tonight I have a ticket to see the ENO do Partenope. I think I'll go to the National Portrait Gallery beforehand.

And lucky me, the sun just came out. I think I'll go to the Hunterian Museum and poke around Temple.

Just loving your posts Apres.

So "American abroad". You are so pleased with yourself (I'm pleased for you too).

You haven't done the usual five star thing, which is to be applauded but the way you write about your "adventures" sort of assumes that the UK is a place where you must be adventurous.

And if Americans think it is, then I wonder what they would make of places that really ARE challenging - Africa, Asia?

Now I wait for the predictable replies - "we've been to Asia (read Thailand) and we've been to Africa (read South Africa)".

To pre-empt that I am going to ask:

You have been to "Asia" (where exactly) and you have been to "Africa" (where exactly) and how did you travel?

If there is anyone out there who DID NOT take an organised tour or a mega-expensive private tour, then I'd like to hear from you.

Always looking for an interesing conversation.

Cheers.

''Then I went out and found the neighborhood BANKSY''

There is (or was) one very near Chalk Farm tube - a french maid cleaning a wall!

There are also walking tours for anyone interested in seeing more than one of them, and quite a lot of books detailing what can be seen where if you want to be 'self-guided'.

There is, by the way, a shop (not a stall) in one of the covered sections of Camden Lock that specialises in framed photos of London Banksies. From memory, they're mostly pretty affordable (£5-£10).

Sorry I can't give better directions.

What a great description of the NG Renaissance exhibit! Can't wait to hear more (Hunterian Museum & ENO).

And JK Rowling sighting! WOW!

Hope your sore throat is gone.

No one else seemed to recognize her (at least there was no "stir&quot but then 95% of the visitors to the exhibition that morning and diners at the cafe were over the age of 65.

My offspring and their friends think that it is extremely naff to make a stir around celebrities.
The dialogue with them would be a murmured. "JK Rowling six O'clock"
a casual glance and then "Clocked her"