First full day in London

Rain, not merely London drizzle. Real pouring down rain. Luckily for me, the Thanet has umbrellas in a stand in the front hallway for visitors to borrow (Himself, of course, brought his own, but I forgot mine. Actually, I didn’t forget it, I just decided not to bring it because last January it snowed while we were here.) Tomorrow snow is expected.

The Thanet is a very nice, little, family-run hotel at #8 Bedford Place in Bloomsbury. There are garden squares at each end of the block - Bloomsbury Square and Russell Square. The street is lined with tall, narrow row houses, most of which are private hotels like the Thanet. We’re on the 3rd floor, looking east over walled gardens toward the Bedford Hotel located on Southampton Row. The Thanet is billed as an economy hotel - and, by London standards I guess it is. But it’s very nice, and has all the essentials - private bathrooms, heat, hot water, comfortable beds; it’s clean, and it offers a cooked breakfast - not just the usual buffet with boiled eggs that might or might not be warm. Here the staff prepares a “typical” English breakfast of eggs - scrambled, fried, or boiled, with ham, sausage, or smoked salmon, with mushrooms, fried tomatoes, and baked beans, with toast, of course, is a charming little toast rack. You can also have fruit and juice. Plus, you could chose porridge, cold cereal, yoghurt. And, of course, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. The staff is very pleasant, and have been here for years, making it seem very homelike. And, the Thanet is very convenient. The British Museum is a 3 minute walk away, and the British Library about 10 minutes in the opposite direction.

Today I had a very, very lazy day. Himself got up and out early, breakfasting when the dining room opened at 7:30. I managed to roll out of bed about 8:30, shower, and dress, and race down to breakfast with my wet hair confined in a bun about 9:03 (breakfast ends at 9:15). Himself went off to the BM while I was breakfasting, and I had planned to do a couple of errands and maybe go there myself later in the morning, but by the time I had finished doing my laundry and blogging, it was pouring down rain, so I hung out here and read a book. After lunch and a nap, the rain having abated considerably, I made an excursion to Southampton Row to the bank and to buy some hand cream. In the drug store (which is called, curiously, a pharmacy, rather than a chemist), I ran into a young woman who goes to Carlton College in Northfield Minnesota! Interesting how many times we run into people with Minnesota connections no matter where we go!

After that I walked a few blocks to 46 Gordon Square, the site of one of Virginia Woolf’s childhood homes, a house later occupied by John Maynard Keynes. Tomorrow I will go to see another of Woolf’s homes, on Tavistock Place. Tomorrow I plan to buy a couple of second hand copies of her books.

We were joined by one of Himself’s colleagues for dinner - which we enjoyed at a nearby Indian-Bangladeshi restaurant - the Nason Raja on Southampton Row. It was warm and inviting, and the food and service were very good.