A Rainy Birthday At The Tate Modern, London

If you had the option to have a day out in London, what would you do? This was the question I posed on my Facebook page last week. I was looking for some last minute birthday inspiration which would entertain me, my four-year-old daughter and my husband (I figured the baby would go with the flow). I narrowed it down to London’s Southbank and we started our day (which by the time we got there was afternoon) at London’s Tate Modern.

The Tate Modern
Of course, it decided to rain. All day. It was quite the contrast to last year’s birthday when we were in the sunny tea lands of Sri Lanka. But despite the rain, there was nowhere I’d rather be than in my home city. It would take a lot more than rain to dampen my birthday!

View from the Tate Modern

It has been a while since I visited the Tate Modern. An art gallery which is almost impossible to see in one go. It is easy to get overwhelmed so we decided to visit just two floors which had some areas of interest for Mrs T as well.

As soon as we entered the building there was a buzzing light display complete with loud noises which periodically resonated through the building. We headed to floor 4 to begin where there was a Living Cities exhibition (rather appropriate given my City Tripping blog linky).

The Tate Modern, London

On the floor in the first room was a black rubber map of Beirut, Beirut Caoutchouc. Visitors can walk on it to have a personal, immersive experience with the artwork and city it represents. Something else caught me eye though. It was a table with buildings which looked like they were made of sand. Upon closure inspection, I discovered it was cooked cous cous. Untitled (Ghardaïa) 2009 is a scale model of the ancient city of Ghardaïa in Algeria by the artist Kader Attia.

In one of the alcoves was a series of films detailing artists’ relationship with the city they live and work in. We walked the streets of Bangalore with Sheela Gowda and I got half-way through watching Ai Weiwei talk about Beijing before my daughter got bored! Darn!

It was interesting exhibition which, as you would expect, prompted me to think about my own city experience and what London means to me. I have to say, certainly for my birthday this year, there is nowhere else I would rather spend it than in London with my family and close friends. As I have written about before, it is a city which is special to me.

Having promised my daughter a giant spider (suggested by one of the helpful Tate staff), we headed to the Louise Bourgeouis exhibit. The late French artist looks at themes such as family, life and motherhood. Inside the body of the bronze and granite spider, which Mrs T walked under, was a large egg.

Louise Bourgeois spider at Tate Modern

There were also bodies and legs hanging from the ceiling.

Having seen enough dangling limbs, we headed to floor 10. I’d never been to the viewing area at the top of the Tate Modern before. After waiting a while to get on an elevator, we made it. Even on a rainy day, the views were impressive.

The city of London from the Tate Modern

After soaking up some of the city, it was back down to floor three where we were meeting my friend Emma. She was having a look around the Robert Rauschenberg exhibition (an extra £18.50 for non-members). We gave it a miss and instead went to the ‘performer and participant’ exhibits.

A collection of installations from various artists working between the 1960s and 90s, many invited you to participate. In one case you were asked to step into spotlights which set off short films on large screens. The exhibit which appealed to my daughter was an area with building blocks. Perfect for when a young child’s attention span starts to wane. She was very happy building a ‘castle’ and a ‘church’ with the large wooden blocks and could have done so happily for the next half an hour or so.

Building blocks at the Tate Modern

If we had time, I would have liked to have seen more of the Anywhen exhibition in the Turbine Hall but with time running out we crossed over to the Boiler House area of the building where there was a wall of orange carpet which you can touch, make patterns with your hands or simply have your photo taken against.

Wander Mum and friends at the Tate Modern, London

Then it was time for lunch! We had booked The Swan restaurant at the Shakespeare’s Globe, somewhere I had wanted to go for a while. Unbelievably I still haven’t been to a performance at the Globe theatre…one of the many London activities on my list! You can also have a tour of the theatre.

The Globe Theatre, London

We had a fantastic roast lunch, the obligatory birthday champagne (and wine) topped off by a surprise cake made by my very talented friend – thank you Emma!

Birthday cake

Food and drink at The Swan, London

The Swan had a children’s menu and it was one of those loud bustling restaurants which means you don’t worry too much if your child is making a bit of a racket.

Entrance to the Tate Modern

Emma and Cheeky

It also had great views which Mrs T and I had a chat about, from the boats on the river to some brightly coloured umbrellas. The staff at the Swan were really friendly and helpful too.

`few of London from the Swan restaurant

We wandered home a little late (for Mrs T anyway), taking in the lights and relative quiet of the city at night. My daughter proclaimed it was ‘the best birthday party ever’. Bless. Spending my first birthday as a family of four in London with friends was certainly something special. It wasn’t exactly a party but there was cake and in my daughter’s eyes that is all that mattered.

Have you been to the Tate Modern recently? What would you do on a day trip to London?

Wander Mum
the Pigeon Pair and Me


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Wander Mum

I've always loved to travel so when my two daughters came along, I didn't stop. Travelling as a family can have its ups and downs but I love showing my children the world and helping others navigate travelling with children in tow.

61 Comments
  1. Lovely – my last London bday was spent doing a Thames rib and cocktails at the city of London distillery.

    I love the globe been many times. If you sit rather than stand get the cushion. The comedy club also do performances once a year in may (or they use to). We saw paul Merton there was great #citytripping
    Wandermust mummy recently posted…A Day In & Around Montjuic with a BabyMy Profile

    1. Oh, yes. I tried to get tickets for a comedy performance once. Forgot they did that. Thanks for the cushion tip. Food and cocktails at London Distillery sounds like a great way to spend a birthday!

    1. Is that right? I wasn’t sure whether you could and told my daughter to get off it but then I saw everyone else was walking on it. I think that’s part of the idea behind the artwork.

  2. Wow that cake is phenomenal! What a lovely birthday despite the rain. Great lunch idea, we have been to the restaurant at the top of the Tate -fab river views, but not to the Swan its on my list! Thanks for the tip and for hosting.

  3. Happy birthday! I haven’t been to the Tate Modern for ages – I used to work nearby so would try to find a moment to pop it but that was a while ago. I have been to the Globe too but equally that was a while ago! A great place to watch Shakespeare though. #citytripping
    Cathy (Mummytravels) recently posted…City Tripping #60My Profile

    1. I know! The most authentic place to watch Shakespeare! I was working out when I last went to the Tate… It was almost four years ago when Mrs T was a similar age to Cheeky. A revisit was indeed in order!

  4. Looks like you had a great bday! I love the orange carpet wall and the hands-on exhibits. That cake your friend made looks incredible! 🙂 I guess now you need to make a point of returning for a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your fun day with us! #citytripping
    Mandy recently posted…A-Z: Québec City & Montréal, CanadaMy Profile

  5. Even though it rained it looks like you did a wonderful job of making the best of your day! You can’t go wrong with the Tate Modern and the Globe. My favorite places to visit in London are the V & A, Hyde Park, and the British Museum. I’d love to go back and see these places again!
    Brooke of Passport Couture recently posted…World Hat StylesMy Profile

  6. Happy Belated Birthday, Liz!!

    Oh my gosh, the typical England rain, lol! Mrs T is such a great sport, my heart went ‘aawww’ when she said that was the best birthday ever, such a sweetie :-)I’ve never been to the Tate Modern, would love to visit when I return to London (some day haha). My sister highly recommends it as well – she said one day at the museum is never enough :-)#citytripping

    1. Mrs T is a cutie. I’m pretty sure she’ll have had better birthday parties but it was a special thing for her to say. I need to go back to the Tate already. Loads to see.

  7. I love posts about stuff to do in cities on rainy UK days. I find lots of inspiration in them because really, we have so many rainy days to fill up with adventure! I’ve never been to the Tate (only the Liverpool one) in London, but we’ve been talking about a weekend there with our son at some point this year, so I’ll hopefully make it if we pull that off!

  8. Disembodied limbs and cous cous… it really has been far too long since I was last in the Tate Modern. I would have enjoyed the Rauschenberg exhibition too.

    Glad you had a great birthday and thanks for #CityTripping!

  9. That looks like a brilliant birthday! Great advice to just focus on one or two floors with little ones, otherwise it is too overwhelming. I visited the Tate extension in the summer but not seen these displays, would love to take the kids to see Louise Bourgeois spiders #culturedkids

  10. Great post! I used to visit the Tate frequently when I had one stationary baby in a buggy but haven’t been back in quite a few years. Seeing the exhibits with my now 5 year old will be brilliant as he will interpret things completely differently to me, thanks for the inspiration!

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