We spent a few hours in the National Gallery on Wednesday with my museum class looking at some of the most commercially successful paintings ever such as Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" and a lot of portraits from the 14th Century featuring cherubs and renderings of the Resurrection. I have no idea what we did in the evening (days tend to run together here) but I imagine spaghetti and/or television was involved.
In preparation for my walking tour of Westminster Abbey, I took the undergound to South Kensington where I walked around the Victoria & Albert Museum before becoming too overwhelmed by everything to make it to the museum's exhibit about the Motown group, The Supremes. Not only was I a little thrown off by the Supremes exhibit since the rest of the museum was full of priceless objects from Kings and priests and Victorian elites, I couldn't find it. During one attempt, I followed the sounds of "You Can't Hurry Love" into a room full of antique musical instruments but it was basically a dead end (even though I could still hear the song). I enjoyed the V&A but it's just too huge to consume in one day. To lift my spirits, I bought several postcards from the gift shop and then a thong that says "Mind the Gap" on the front from a convenience store near by. I think I'm going to send it to Rachel for her 22nd birthday that was over a week ago.
The walking tour was great. Westminster Abbey is massive and quite ornate. I always love walking near the Thames even though the water is really dingy. During one small portion of the tour, we walked through the courtyard of the really private and really prestigious Westminster School. The place was once for boys only but now girls are permitted to study there past the age of 17. The only girl I saw was carrying a field hockey stick and wearing a plaid skirt. I can't imagine going to a school where "sweater vest" is on the top of the supplies list.
Jared showed up on Thursday morning (his program in France starts today and he wanted to get in a little London time before then) so he got to come on our walking tour. For dinner, we tried to show Jared our favorite pub but the place was under construction so we walked down the street and found a comparable one. I had a steak and ale pie and some hard cider. The pair are practically inseparable. We went to the International Student House for drinks Thursday and Friday night because their prices are right. We're hoping to check out a new pub tonight since we're not "club people."
My field trip to Welwyn Garden City was cut short by rain and wind but I enjoyed getting out of the city for a few hours. The town was founded by Sir Ebenezer Howard who reshaped how small towns are designed and constructed (it has industry, a college campus, a town square, access to the city, and a safe residential area all within a six mile radius.) It took about half an hour to get there by train and on the way to the city, we could see the site where the first television show was filmed and broadcast.
On our way home, we ran into some Grinnell people in the underground on their way to the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons so we decided to tag along. The place was full of medical oddities like human and animal fetuses, uteruses, feet, tumors, and nipples which were preserved in large jars of formaldehyde over two stories. They also had a set of Winston Churchill's gold dentures on display! The museum was free and less then 50 people visit a day so you don't have to worry about seeming creepy and weird for looking at certain objects for a long time. It was probably the most exciting museum in the entire city.
I have no idea what these things are. Aren't they gross/cool?
We're on our way to the Portobello Market in Notting Hill. Maybe Hugh Grant will be there but probably not.
1 comment:
Oh my. What on earth are those?
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