Bermondsey and Frida

Yesterday morning was bright and clear, and Bailey was out with her dog-walker, so I decided to hit the town and go for a walk of my own. I grabbed my camera bag and took the tube down to Canada Water, in southeast London. I walked from there up through Bermondsey to the Tate Modern, a distance of a little more than three miles.

I finally got to use the new camera while out on the town, and though there are still some things that confuse me about the settings, I feel pretty good about its capabilities.

I stopped for a coffee in Southwark Park, where I came across this very colorful poodle.

And later I walked past this tiny dachshund, barking enthusiastically from the roofop of a pizza restaurant. (Clearly he comes out that window, onto his "balcony.")

Finally, I got to the Tate, where I had lunch in the members' bar. I even scored an outdoor table on the terrace overlooking the Thames, so this was my view:

Not too shabby, right?

I took that picture by kneeling at the safety rail around the terrace and pointing the camera through the bars. When I stood again and turned around, the downside of the outdoor table became apparent -- there were two pigeons IN my lunch! I shooed them off my coronation chickpea wrap, which had been somewhat pecked. Wild birds are filthy and pigeons especially so, but I ate the wrap. C'est la vie.

Then I went to the Frida Kahlo show at the Tate. Several of Kahlo's paintings were on display, including "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" (above), but there were fewer than I expected. The show was mostly works by other artists paying tribute to Kahlo, or artists -- including her husband Diego Rivera -- who had inspired her or who she had inspired.

Kahlo didn't produce a huge volume of art during her short lifetime (she died at 47), so I assume that's why there's not more of her work in the show. Still, it was packed with visitors, and it did feature some of Kahlo's remarkable Mexican dresses and jewelry, as well as some of the torturous corsets and medical devices she was forced to wear following a near-fatal bus accident as a young woman.

Anyway, it was an interesting show and a good day out, and I haven't died from bird flu yet. (But stay tuned!)