Sunday 6 September

Bath to London
We were a little sorry to be leaving Bath, as it is so very beautiful, however, we were returning to London, so not all bad! We checked in at the Tower Bridge Travelodge – cheap and cheerful and great location – and walked from Tower Bridge, along the Thames, to the Tate Modern. The Tate Modern is housed in a former power station – an enormous towering structure right on the river. We have been awed by the churches and castles, but were equally amazed by this transformed industrial building. Soaring ceilings and vast open spaces that house art works by well known modern artists. The collections are housed in “rooms” that display works by one or two artists on a theme. Mary was keen to see the Anselm Keifer – two large walls covered by very large paintings, with an uprooted palm tree lain across the floor. There is an Anselm Keifer painting in the NGV St Kilda Road, that she really likes, which is why she wanted to see another. Stunning. Dick was keen to see Francis Bacon’s work and the Picassos. Jackson Pollock had a couple of paintings there – interesting to compare earlier works with Blue Poles. We liked the collections in the Tate Liverpool more exciting and dynamic, and the food in the Liverpool restaurant was better than in London’s.

We then walked from the Tate to Waterloo Bridge and then back to St Paul’s to meet Karol and Michael for dinner. That’s a long walk! On the way we diverted into a seemingly pretty little garden, but we were rather disconcerted to realise that it was obviously a “special” meeting place for lonely men. We quickly moved on.

We will be sorry to be leaving London, and England, but the sadness should be compensated by arriving in Paris tomorrow.