The Euston Road

Either the distance between points has gotten greater or I'm just not as speedy as I once was. Yesterday had me rushing from place to place in order to work everything in, but I managed to do it. Today's plan is probably overly ambitious given my slower mph, and I want to get an early start for my long walk on the Mile End Road, so this post will be brief.

Here's what I saw and did on Wednesday:

• Got to the Design Museum right when it opened. Saw two exhibitions -- Breathing Colour and California -- and took a quick look through the permanent collection. Also got a good look at the building, the former Commonwealth Institute, which is an amazing work of design.
• On to the V&A to see the Plywood exhibition and to look at the new entrance in Exhibition Road.
• Up to Regent's Park for the Frieze sculpture. Had to take shelter in the station to wait out a torrential downpour, then ducked under trees in the park as the sky changed from bright blue to stormy grey every five minutes. (Notice I have more to say about the weather than about the sculpture.)
• Met Molly and started our walk down the Euston Road. She likes Antony Gormley, so I promised I'd show her his four pieces along with the other public art I knew of between Regent's Park and King's Cross.
• Stopped in at the Wellcome Collection, one of my London favourite places, to see objects contributed by the public to represent their personal relationship with nature.
• Stopped at Platform 9 3/4 so Molly could get a snap of the punters getting their own snaps.
• Didn't make it up to Granary Square for a look around, but pointed out some of the refurbs and new development. I hadn't seen the buildings in the gasometers. Glad to see the beloved gasometers back in place, but not impressed with the look of the buildings. 
• Hopped the tube for the Barbican and walked to the Museum of London to hear the Gresham Lecture about the Thames by the bloke who used to be head of English Heritage. He told the history of the river through art, from the sixteenth century. Very interesting up to the end, when he covered the whole of the twentieth century with, "After the war, the Pool of London closed." No 20th century images. If he couldn't find a modern piece of art, I would have closed with a photo of the cranes lowering as Churchill's funeral barge passed, but I wasn't consulted.
• Back to Queen's Park for a pub meal at the Alice House.

Stats:

9 pounds for Design Museum exhibitions (50% off with Art Pass)

4 pounds 25 for quick lunch at EAT.

20 quid for dinner

23707 steps

10.17 miles