A Bloomsbury Day
We were both extremely tired this morning – yesterday was a long day, and we were both enduring health situations (me, a wrecked knee; Vince, a very bad cold, cough). We intentionally slept in, knowing we would miss the Euro breakfast, but we desperately needed the rest. We got up around 10:00 and leisurely got ready to go out for the day. Intentionally, this was to be an easy, restful day as a slower pace was much needed. On this day we restricted our movements to our local area of London – Bloomsbury:
We left the Euro and headed down Marchmont Street to our breakfast standby, The Valencia Café, where the breakfast portions are enormous and the food is delicious. We each had a substantial breakfast; *very* busy there today – looks like much of Bloomsbury does their Sunday brunch at The Valencia.
Finishing up at The Valencia Cafe, we wondered down Marchmont Street a bit, first browsing in the iconic bookstore Gay’s The Word:
After that we wandered through the Marchmont Community Garden, which leads to the rear entrance of the Brunswick Centre. This small, public garden was created in 2011 with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund, turning a neglected space between the Brunswick Centre and the terrace of shops into a tranquil oasis. It is owned and managed by the Marchmont Community Garden Partnership, a collective of local voluntary organizations:
Staying in the Brunswick Centre we went over to Leon and had a tea and bottle of water. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine, so we lingered for a long time as there was no agenda that day:
From Leon we walked up Woburn Place, one of the main arteries of Bloomsbury. During our walk we encountered this guy outside the Taste of Chongqing Chinese Restaurant at 40-42 Woburn Place:
Next we wandered over to the British Library to check it out. I’ve always wanted to visit the British Library but somehow, despite my many visits to London, I had never achieved that… until now:
Leaving the Library’s piazza we noticed a circular seating area with rocks on top of vertical columns (below):
On closer inspection we could see that a human body – or parts of one – are hewn into each rock (see below). As I learned later, the figures represent sculptor Antony Gormley‘s friends and family, who hugged the stones while he traced around them:
After our visit, we rested in the Library’s piazza for a while, contemplating our next move. For some reason we both had the urge for a milkshake so we went back to Marchmont Street, winding up at Il Gelataio where we had enjoyed some delicious ice cream earlier in the week. Vince had a vanilla shake and I had the chocolate – fantastic!
Leaving Il Gelataio we returned to the Euro. Keeping in mind that bit about maintaining a restful, leisured day, we both enjoyed a much-needed nap.
At about 6:30 we decided to seek out our evening meal. We left the Euro and first went to Boots in St. Pancras station (for those unfamiliar, Boots is the UK equivalent of Shopper’s Drug Mart in Canada). Vince desperately needed cough/cold meds and I wanted to see if they had canes (which would no doubt help me in my ambling around London with a dicey knee). We scored on the meds but no luck on the cane.
From Boots we went to Pizza Express on Euston Road and enjoyed a leisurely, delicious meal: artisan pizza with wine and dessert. Very busy there but well worth it. Excellent meal:
After our delicious meal we headed back to the Euro Hotel at about 9:15. We just took it easy for the rest of the evening. Off to bed at 9:30.
It was our last night in London… we move on to York tomorrow!
Today’s step count: 10,447
Hey Marvin. I am not leaving a comment on every post. But be assured that I am faithfully reading and enjoying each picture. I was so sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident but you seem to have not let it ruin your vacation.
Thank you David!