DAY 4 IN LONDON

Spring time in London is surprisinlgy multicoloured. This huge modern city is full of unexpected green spots and wonderful flowers all over. This morning we woke up with beautiful sunny weather and decided - well, my husband and son did - to visit the Stanford Bridge, Chelsea soccer team's stadium. We got there by tube and they were so enthusiastic and excited to be there! They knew there would be an important match tonight against Liverpool but they didn't expect not to be allowed in for this reason. The disappointment was so great ! They had been waiting for this moment for three days and... ! So we moved toward step two of our route for today: Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. You can imagine their faces, can't you?
There was an interesting exhibition of Picasso's works, the National Gallery's first exhibition dedicated to Pablo Picasso, which shows how the modernist master was influenced by the great European painting tradition. We also had a look - I can't properly say "visited" - at the permanent exhibition of masterpieces of all ages there and it was already lunchtime.

Our plan was to get to the London Zoo and have luch there, so we did it, though we didn't imagine it would take so long. By tube, bus and a long walk we got there at about 2.30 p.m. Before our visit there, we had a fast lunch. I really felt sorry for all those poor wild animals kept there but loved watching the pelicans and the flamingos in various relaxing poses all around a beautiful green pond.

After a couple of hours, we took a bus back and again by tube and another long walk, we reached Shakespeare's Globe along the river Thames. We were there two days ago but it was late for a visit so we went back there today. I was captured by the ancient magic atmosphere of the place: it was as if everything I always imagine while reading, studying or teaching Shakespeare had come true and I was there, part of that impressive scenery. Some craftsmen - and women - were preparing the set for next Romeo and Juliet and we could sit in the roofed galleries and listen to our English guide. It was perfect!

The end of the day was entertaining and even funny: we went to Covent Garden and walked among the crowd, the shops were already closing but street performers were still playing music or performing their shows. We laughed and clapped our hands :those people were extraordinary artists! Well, they deserved much more than some coins and a ... big applause!

Tomorrow it's time to fly back to Italy. Time has gone by so quickly!