Friday in London

Dinner Thursday night was at a little French restaurant called, of all things, a Little French Restaurant (emphasis on little – maybe seven tables).  French cooking, eastern European staff, and Italian house wine.  Eclectic but good.  Elaine had Vichyssoise (hot – I thought it was always cold) for a starter while I had chicken livers in a red wine reduction.  We both has coq au vin for our mains and apple pie (tart really) with ice cream for dessert.  Everything was delicious except the ice cream which was icy.  Total bill including two Kir Royales, a bottle of wine, and gratuity:  £55 – extraordinarily reasonable in London.  Cash only.

Friday broke cloudy and we had scattered sprinkles (nothing serious) but bright sun by mid afternoon.  We continued our search for new things to see in London by taking the tube to Russell Square:

First stop: the Charles Dickens Museum where Dickens and his family lived for part of their lives.  He wrote here and produced a bunch of children.  Very well done museum.  We had hot chocolates in the cafe for breakfast.

Second stop: the Sir John Saone Museum.  An architect, Saone was a collector, and his collections are displayed here.  Really quite a remarkable home.  It is located at Lincoln Inn Fields, a lovely park, so we bought picnic stuff at Pret A Manger and ate at a bench in the park.  No pictures allowed in the museum.

Third Stop:  the Old Curiosity Shop immortalized by Dickens.  Actually this isn’t the place he wrote about, but why quibble – it’s cute?  We viewed from outside but did not enter.

Fourth stop:  the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons.  All you ever wanted to know about surgery and more.  You could spend hours here.  We would have spent longer but we were rousted out by a fire alarm.  Did you know surgeons in the seventeenth century did not have a college education but rather were apprenticed?  They were joined in a professional society with barbers.  Things change with time.

Fifth and final stop: a walking tour of the Lincoln Inns of Court, an active and thriving society of lawyers with a very long history, situated in a tranquil enclave of some 11 acres in central London.  “Lincoln’s Inn” thus refers both to the Society and the place.  Think Rumpole.  The tour was led by a spry old lady who had a brilliant sense of humor.  Great fun and very educational and entertaining.

A pint at a pub and back to the hotel by 5:00 PM – a long day.  No reservations tonight, so we will venture out and find somewhere to eat.