London: Week 1

Unfortunately, the internet at my hotel seems to only work in 20 minute spurts. I'm going to try to take advantage of one of these spurts to do an update on my last week in London.

I visited the National Gallery, which was interesting because they had some of Vermeer's work, but overall not my favorite art gallery in London. There was a lot of art from the 12th-19th century, which I thought I liked, but after awhile it all began to look the same. I spent a lot of time outside the gallery, watching street performers. One man swallowed a sword and juggled while sitting on a rope, another man was speaking out loudly against the London police (which I have to give him credit for because he went on for hours with a booming voice and nobody really cared), and then several other men dressed up as statues and took pictures with tourists. I think I may have enjoyed watching all of them more than the museum itself.

I've also visited the National Portrait Gallery, which I LOVED, because they have an entire room dedicated to the Tudor family. Famous portraits of Henry VIII and his wives, Mary Stuart, Elizabeth I, Mary, I, Edward I...I've seen all of these dozens of times in books and documentaries. I was in utter shock when I found myself in a room surrounded by them.

Tate Britain was also pretty fascinating, more of the same except it was dedicated to the work of British artists. My favorite part of that was a large roome with no furniture, just writing on the walls. Tons of random phrases, song lyrics, etc, meant to evoke emotion based on the viewers experiences, were plastered up and down the walls and ceilings.

Tate Modern, which I had already visited in January, was worth coming back to. There were some very weird scenes, such as a naked woman covering herself in blood and rolling around in feathers, but there were also some brilliant displays. My favorite was a room full of images from the NYC Subway in 1980. The portraits of gang members, tourists, couples, homeless men and women, against the back drop of colorful street art was an interesting juxtaposition.

Enough about museums though, I want to talk about the other wonderful things I love about London. I love Hyde Park, and how busy it is with people on the weekends. There are so many people here that picnic! Both weekends I've been here there are blankets and people strewn about in the parks and by the Thames. I love China Town, where Jon (a friend from Leicester and Rome) took me last Monday to get some lunch. I love Soho, with all it's shows and secondhand bookstores. I love riding in the tube, and walking miles each day, exploring this massive city and all it has to offer.

Today I'm going to go to speakers corner in Hyde Park, and then to the Science Museum. Although there has apparently been a massive ash cloud over London, the sky has been blue and sunny for several days now.