"Sleepy London Town"....at least in the morning

Our shortcut to Covent Garden crossing Great Queen Street

Today, Friday, April 22, was probably the quietest day that Allie and LT experienced while traversing the streets of London. Hardly anyone was around when the two walked to Leicester Square, and although they initially reasoned that this was due to the fact that it was early morning, as the day progressed, Allie and LT continued to notice that number of people on the streets continued to remain small. Was it a bank holiday? An infectious disease? Who knows, but it certainly made the day feel a little bit like an episode of The Twilight Zone!

In a way, the empty streets were very special, and it was almost like being in their own private dream of London, as the two explorers left their hotel on High Holborn, walked two short blocks down Kingsway, then turned right on Great Queen Street and could--if it weren't for the tall Georgian brick buildings and the slight curve in the road-- almost see Leicester Square lurking half a mile away.  Queen Street turned into Long Acre and took them past Covent Garden.  Staying on Long Acre they indeed finally reached Leicester Square and St. Martin's Lane, where they veered off and did some window shopping on lower Charing Cross Road.  LT saw first editions of "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and a few other choice titles.

Piccadilly Circus

Since the morning was so fine and there was plenty of cool shade on one side of the street, they hit Cambridge Circus--where LT pointed out the "Marquis of Granby Pub [title taken from Dicken's "Pickwick Papers"] where he used to eat lunch in the days before he discovered Italo's Trattoria San Francesco.  Still staying on the shady side of the road, they then took Shaftsbury Avenue until it reached Picadilly Circus, which is being extensively cleaned up for the 2012 Olympics.   They noted all the theatres, most of which were performing musicals and were therefore not very appealing to LT's classical taste.  From Piccadilly Circus, they sauntered down Regent Street, then cut over to  Haymarket and took a couple small streets until they re-arrived at the back of the National Gallery.

At 10:15AM when they entered the National Gallery, they realized that they reason the streets had seemed so empty was that everyone must have been in a long queue waiting to enter the picture galleries.  Every gallery was packed just fifteen minutes after opening time.  It's as if every student group in London had decided to visit the National Gallery and unfortunately, based on their behavior, many of these students will not turn out to be art majors.   LT quickmarched Allie through his favorite galleries, Titian's "Bacchus and Ariadne,"Tintoretto's "The Origin of the Milky Way," Botticelli's "Venus and Mars," Piero Della Francesca's "Nativity" and "Baptism" as well as the rooms full of Manets, Monets, Renoirs, Degas, Cezanne, and Van Gogh.

Allie and LT lunch at Italo's Trattoria San Francesco

At 11:30AM, we left the National Gallery and walked east past Covent Garden and reached Catherine Street, where Allie and LT turned right and peaked into # 19.  Italo was not there yet, but Silvano his assistant recognized LT, and told them he'd reserve they a table outside in the shade, right across the street for the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.  At 12:00 Noon they returned, and sat outside.  Allie had a Caprese Salad with mozzarella and tomatoes, while LT indulged in Spaghetti Alla Carbonara--which when it arrived seemed exactly the same and exactly as wonderful as it has been for the 34 years LT has been eating at the San Francesco.  Even though Silvano wisely suggested that LT have a smaller portion, the plate that arrived was quite filling.  For main courses, Allie had  rigatoni and LT had trout with small prawns, onion, peppers, accompanied with English potatoes and really fresh, crisp green beans--which were lovingly ladled onto his plate by Silvano.  The only 1/2 bottle of white on the menu was a Soave Classico, so LT washed down his food with the hay-colored white wine.  It was a bright sunny day, and as they sat enjoying their food, LT thought how wonderful it was to sit there with Allie and realize that LT had first discovered and become an obsessive fan of the Trattoria San Francesco in 1977 (returning almost every day he was in London each summer he visited England), and six years before he'd marry Eli and they would have their wedding dinner there.

Italo arrived just as they were finishing,  and, after embracing both LT and Allie, he ducked back into the restaurant and returned holding up a picture he still keeps on the wall of the restaurant showing both Italo and LT in their younger days.  LT joked to Silvano that Italo keeps the picture not just because he is fond of "Mister Thomas," but because he, Italo, is so thin and dark-haired in the photo.  Italo now looks like a successful restaurant owner who could be cast as an extra in the next re-make of the Godfather, and, after all, Italo is from Sicily.  LT promised to return for lunch Saturday, so that Italo could treat him to a special "digestivo" after the meal.

With full bellies and happy thoughts, Allie and LT took every short cut they knew back to High Holborn, stopping only to purchase extra paper towels and some fruit salad at Sainsbury's and also getting some Hall's cough drops, for the theatre and Hamlet tomorrow evening at the National Theatre's Lyttelton stage.