tourist in my own city

The week before the wedding, which now seems like months ago, I had myself a couple of touristy days out in London. On the Monday I met my friend Kate for a roam around Tate Britian. I quite fancied the Folk Art exhibition (which has now ended - bit slow there, sorry) and, because Kate has a membership which allows a guest to visit for free too, that's exactly what we saw. It was an odd collection of curious objects, some more interesting than others. There was a room of ship's figureheads which I was expecting to like but it was pretty meh - there was a distinct lack of information about them which was probably what the audio guide was for. Still, the textile bits and pieces were cool as were the old shop signs and naval scenes created with wool and thread. After the exhibition we wandered around the rest of the museum. The art is set out in chronological order for obvious reasons but walking through the galleries it's fascinating to see how the painting styles change and evolve through the centuries. We rounded off the afternoon with a late lunch and a stroll along the South Bank.

Two days after the jaunt to the Tate, my cousin, who was visiting from New Zealand, and I climbed the O2. They suit you up in rather unflattering harnesses and special shoes (I was v.grateful for these shoes on the decent, I tell you), give you a talk about safety, fanny around taking pictures of you and then you're finally hooked up to metal safety bar and away you go! The walkway is made out of a bouncy material which kinda reminded me of a trampoline. It's not difficult, although the first and last bits of the climb are the steepest. Once reaching the top you get to admire the views…of er….. the docklands, canary wharf and the emirates air line?! (Seriously, you can't even see the Shard from the top, which is pretty impressive in itself to be fair, as Canary Wharf et al are blocking it, and FYI there's building work in the process which, once finished, will actually obscure that too.) Cynicism aside, my cousin and I had a good laugh, reaching the top was cool and I did point out the transmitter at Crystal Palace. It's a bit of fun and I'm glad I did it but I think it's one of those things that, if you're a Londoner, only do if your friend from out of town is dead keen.