Gap On!: Arts and Culture and Stuff

Current Location: Leeds
Length of stay: 11 days
Host: Diane Nelson
Purpose: Au pair and explore Leeds

However, before I was in Leeds I was staying with my second-cousin-who-I-call-my-auntie in Hampton. And Hampton is very close to London and London has cool things in it including, at the time, actor and web and mobile developer Ulysses Popple (if you'd like to hire him for either of these services, he'e excellent). Even though I had been living and enjoying a very domestic lifestyle at home with the kids and Lynn and tea and avoiding cold weather, I got my act and layers together and met my friend in London.

We started out with a VIP-ish tour of Shakespeares Globe theater because my second-cousin-in-law-who-call-my-uncle works there. Long story short, it was dope. Fun facts: the Globe is built as accurately as possible to the original theater from Shakespearean times; thatched roof and all! Though it was completed in 1996, no power tools were used in any of the construction in order to try and preserve it's authenticity. The standing room holds 700 people and the tickets go for the bargain price of 5 pounds, rain or shine. The ceiling on the stage looks like this (long story short: the whole thing is beautiful):

After the globe experience and a spot of lunch, we moved on to the Tate Modern. Now I don't intend to insult any art enthusiasts and my lack of understanding can certainly be attributed to my lack of education. But here's how it is for me with modern art. The artist can lay out his/her masterpiece and explain how it represents the extraordinary process of becoming aware that one's soul is not just an idea but that it is a tangible being that inhabits space and is an undying companion. And I can hear all that and take their word for it, but it doesn't mean that I can see it when I look at a 12 foot canvas that is painted entirely blue. With that being said, I still very much enjoy perusing modern art. Sometimes I'm in awe at it's scale, the ingenuity of the design, the creativeness involved, and sometimes I just enjoy embracing my inner child when masterpieces look too much like fecal matter or are undeniably phallic. I don't think it's a crime; I still had a great time running around the enormous old turbine building that is the Tate. Some favorites: