London Day 8: Solstice Glass

 

At home, it snowed (photo by Barbara Hulick)

26 December 2024

The cabin lights are back on. They’re coming around with food again. Can’t eat. Blogging. It smells like meat in here.

The events in this post occurred on December 21,  2024.

At home, it snowed. In London, it was cloudy. 

I was interested in seeing the Borough Market on the south side of the Thames. Jack made lunch reservations at a wine bar nearby.

At first, the place didn’t seem crowded. Someone was selling edible insects. Nope.

We could see the Shard from the market.

It seemed that every other vendor was a cheese vendor. Jack found some loose tea. I found a can of sour beer and some fudge. 

Then, as if a floodgate had opened, the crowds swarmed in. I bought a soft pretzel and we got out.

We walked toward the Thames. From left to right, the buildings next to the center tall one are the Cheese Grater, the Gherkin, and the Walkie-Talkie. 

The Thames waterfront on the south side really isn’t that pretty.

There’s been a lot of development on the south side, though. Give it time.

The Thames is tidal here, and the tide was out.

The wine bar was something worth photographing.

The counter where the server worked was made of wine cases, including a winery callled “Haut-Canteloup” and “Chateau Mail Madison.” High cantalope and bad house. “Domaine de la Grave” unfortunately translates not to “grave” but to “gravel.”

Our next stop was Knightsbridge, to get to an antiquarian bookstore and to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where there was a large glass collection I’d visited before I had as much glassblowing experience as I have now (which, in glass years, is still not much).

We walked to the bus stop on the Southwark bridge, stopping to try to get a picture of the Shard through the ruins of an old church. I couldn't line it up the way I wanted it to.

The view from the bridge was a mishmash of everything.

The Sokal antiquarian bookshop was a narrow building that seemed to consist entirely of a stairwell.

Jack found a few volumes of interest, but the cost was too dear for the amount of interest.

The shop bordered a Jewish graveyard.

On our way to the V&A Museum, we passed a storefront with glass lampshades inside, ones that one of my glassmates could make. I sent the photo along to our group text.

There were more storefront decorations.

This is what would pass for a sunset, as the clouds turned violet over an old building.

At the V&A entrance is a massive Chihuly installation. I took the obligatory picture and sent it along.

Inside the glass area, I looked for things that would interest my glassmates.

This one speaks to me.

This one too.

My partner this past semester could do this.

Funky fun!

With a few dozen tries and a fair amount of luck, I could make a bad version of this.

My glassmates pondered, as I did, about how one would make a glass handle and glass hinges for a glass basket, without glue.

At the hotel, we ate the soft pretzel and I drank half the sour beer from the Borough Market.

Then we had dinner at another fancy restaurant at Saint Pancras station. By the time we got out, the train level was empty.

The lower level was still lively, the rows of shops still open. It felt more like a shopping mall than a train station. Jack had a tickle in his throat and wanted to pick up some cough drops at Boots, which we found on the other side of the lower level. I wandered into a shop and picked up three pairs of sparkly earrings I didn’t need.

It was still early when we returned to the hotel. I felt antsy. For the first time since the pandemic, I found myself lifting weights in a gym. For a hotel gym, it was well-stocked. I was the only person there.   (edit 29 December: Wrong day.)

We’re landing. Time to publish and shut the iPad down.