I slept in yesterday (hurrah!), and then spent much of the morning researching new sightseeing options in London.  I definitely wanted to try finding that elusive Geffrye Museum, so I looked up exact directions by tube and then by bus.  I wasn't about to get lost again!  Around 11:00, I decided that I was prepared enough to begin the day's adventures.  ("It's so lovely," I thought, "to have a completely free day with no obligations!"  I would be attending a BBC Proms concert with Kristine that night, but the day lay before me completely open and full of possibilities.)

I headed off in the direction of the Geffrye Museum and stopped in London's financial district along the way.  I'm so glad I did!  The financial area has a different atmosphere than any other place in London.  I'd never actually seen the Bank of England (designed by my funny friend, Sir John Soane) or the Royal Exchange or the Lord Mayor's Mansion House, and I was able to find all three.  They look somewhat similar; they're all gigantic and neo-classical and a bit self-righteous.  :-)  I also discovered the tallest building in London--a very modern-looking skyscraper.  I wasn't too impressed.  Chicago is full of buildings like that, and I prefer the more stately Bank of England type buildings anyway.  I'd read online that morning about some wonderful exhibits in the bank museum, so I set off eagerly to take a look.  Unfortunately, all I discovered was a sign informing me that the museum is closed on Saturday. 

I was most excited about the Geffrye Museum anyway, so I got back on the tube and rode to the Old Street station.  There, I was supposed to catch a bus (#243) which would take me directly to the museum.  Everything worked like a charm, and I was able to have my first experience on a double-decker bus!  When the driver deposited me in front of the museum, I was thrilled.  The museum is housed in this huge, sprawling old building surrounded by the quaintest gardens.  I wandered through the gardens a bit (empty except for a mother and her little blonde-haired boy), admired the greenery, and then headed into the museum.  The Geffrye Museum houses 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century interior design exhibits, and my Literary London teacher had raved on and on about the 17th and 18th century rooms in particular.  So imagine my disappointment when I learned that the 3/4 of the museum was closed until November for repairs!  The only open section was the 20th century area which I hadn't been that interested in touring anyway.  At least the gardens had been beautiful. . .

By this time, it was just after 2:00.  "Perfect!" I thought.  "Now I can go to Westminster Abbey and hear the choir's 3:00 Evensong!"  In all my time around Parliament Square, I've never actually walked around the grounds or been inside Westminster Abbey.  But yesterday, I was able to walk right up to the abbey and admire it fully.  It's even lovelier than I'd imagined and so impressive for a building constructed in the 1000's.  I circled around the building, snapping pictures along with about 3,000 other tourists, and then bumped into a sign with admission prices.  11 pounds for an adult?  Ridiculous!  "At least I'll be getting in free for the choir concert," I thought smugly.  Not so.  Apparently, I'd gathered faulty information, and Evensong wouldn't start until 5:00 that night.  I'd really been excited about seeing the interior of the abbey and hearing the choir sing, but I consoled myself by wandering around Parliament Square and discovering several things I'd never seen before.

I was able to walk right past St. Margaret's Chapel (a 15th century church), the Jewel Tower (the last remaining piece of the original Houses of Parliament), the Queen's Conference Center, the underground Cabinet Rooms (where Churchill strategized during WWII), the gigantic Methodist Center, and several other beautiful buildings and statues and monuments.  Then I ran into the most exciting thing of all:  A huge anti-war rally right in Parliament Square!  Thousands of people were yelling and waving signs in the center of the square, and thousands more were pressing down the streets to join the ranks.  Spokespeople were yelling through loudspeakers, and I saw at least a dozen official news cameras rolling.  It was completely chaotic.  I stopped and read some of the signs:  "2 Towers, 5 Years' War, 0 Results," "Yo, Blair: Go, Blair!," "George Bush: #1 Terrorist," "Out with Blair!"   I had quite the time just trying to make my way back to the underground station, but I finally escaped it all.

By this time, it was around 4:00, so I decided to run home and take a quick nap before heading to Prince Albert Hall for the BBC Proms concert.  It was while I was sitting in my room that an awful thought struck me and I experienced the day's major disappointment.  "I can't wait to see "Swan Lake" with Crystal," I thought to myself.  "I wonder when that is, by the way?  Monday?"  I checked my schedule and was seized by a panicky feeling.  I'd booked my "Swan Lake" tickets for Saturday the 8th at 2:00 PM.  2:00?!?  It was 4:00, and I'd completely missed my chance to see the Bolshoi Ballet performing "Swan Lake" at the Royal Opera House--all because the concert had simply slipped my mind.  I literally felt sick.  I quickly logged onto the internet and checked to see if there were any more tickets available for "Swan Lake."  There weren't.  Luckily, there were tickets available for the Bolshoi Ballet's performance of "Don Quixote" which will be going on while Dylan is visiting.  I quickly purchased two of the cheapest seats.  At least I'll be able to see something at the Royal Opera House!  (I checked with Crystal later, and she'd completely forgotten about the performance, too.  I should've written a reminder for myself.)

Feeling rather blue, I headed off to the Prince Albert Hall to hear the National Youth Symphony of Britain perform as part of the BBC Proms.  Kristine and I had planned to meet at 6:30, and when 6:45 rolled around and she still hadn't shown up, I was miserable.  "Great. Kristine isn't going to show up, and that's how this lovely, lovely day is going to end."  Luckily, Kristine did show up around 6:50.  We rushed into the building and were able to grab two 6 pound seat tickets.  Hurrah!  We made it to our seats just as the lights were dimming.

From this point on, my day definitely began to look up.  The concert was absolutely lovely, and the orchestra was incredible--especially for a youth group!  They played pieces by Stravinsky, Janacek, and Sibelius, and I enjoyed them all.  I also enjoyed just looking around the Prince Albert Hall; it's unlike any concert space I've ever entered before!  It was definitely bigger than any music hall I've seen (except, maybe, the Salt Lake Conference Center), and so very elegant.  Two of the levels are standing room only, and they were both packed.  I couldn't believe it!  Even with a youth orchestra playing, they'd managed to fill the massive hall completely.

After the concert, Kristine took me to see the Royal College of Music (where she'd actually had two lessons with the principle oboeist in London's best-known symphony orchestra), the hotel where she'd done her internship, and her hostel room.  It was fun to see the places where she's spent so much of her time lately.  She even took me behind the scenes in the hotel and showed me the ballrooms and the office where she used to work.  She was paranoid that someone was going to get mad at her for bringing me there, though, so we had to hurry though all the rooms.  :-)  

After that, we came back to my apartment and finished watching "Pride and Prejudice."  It was a very nice way to end things.  And you know what?  After recording the yesterday's events, I've decided that it wasn't such a dreary day after all.  Even though I was disappointed several times, enough pleasant things happened to balance it all out!