Goodness me we’ve been busy, and although that’s been fantastic – if you have been keeping up with our Double Double posts you’ll have seen that we have barely had time to stop. That does mean we have loads to tell you about.
First up is our amazing date day we had. Seemingly taking in only activities that started with the letter ‘P’ by total coincidence.
We started the afternoon at the Tate Modern, where we used our fabulous Art Passes to see the “Picasso 1932: Love, Fame, Tragedy” exhibition. It did what it said on the tin and explored Picasso’s year of wonders, through which he held his first retrospective exhibition, panicked about his work and worth, had affairs and tried to avoid politics whilst getting involved, sounding rather like the millennials today.
There were a few pieces that we had seen before, and weirdly both of our favourite pieces were in there. The story was fascinating and the gentle dollops of information alongside certain artworks tying in with the theme of the room…although that is what you would expect from a well curated exhibition, but more than that, the history and depths it explores in an entirely non-patronising way is a great reason not to miss it. Do book in advance though, and get a wiggle on, as it’s only there until September 9th.
Although we knew our visit to the Tate would be brief because of time constraints, a good excuse to go back and explore anyway, one thing we had had had to do was go up to the top floor of the Blavatnik building to take in some of the most fascinating views of London. The views span the London skyline, even though the Tate is set in an unusually residential area…but that does mean you can be reasonably nosy to the neighbours!
After the Tate Modern, we walked along the river on the gloriously sunny afternoon to Borough Market. We took a huge chance in queuing to eat at Padella…and it worked in our favour having to only wait for about 20 minutes! Padella in case you aren’t aware, is one of the best pasta restaurants in London. Don’t go if you’re gluten-free, and you’ll need to check about it for vegans. All the dishes are inexpensive, and depending on how hungry you are you can order one plate each and some starters, or do what we did and just shared everything. The burrata was exquisite, the pici and gnocchi were amazing and we would eat it all again in a heartbeat! Even the alcohol was very reasonably priced (you must have the negroni).
We got home and annoyingly had things to do but did manage to end our day with some 24 hours in police custody and a picnic on the balcony, which in our opinion was the best way to finish a weekend!
