Welcome to England! I arrived on Saturday. It took me a little while to get to where I needed to be, but now I've got this public transport thing down. Still have to get on one of those cool red buses. There's some time left for that though. It really is mostly overcast here, but I really can't complain too much because I've stayed pretty dry so far. It is so green here, unlike our dried out lawns back home. It's quite a nice view, especially contrasted with the red brick buildings. Or really any building. Me gusta mucho. Getting into the city, you realize this place is truly ethnically diverse. It's an international city like no other. I also hear Polish on the streets, constantly. There's a huge Polish population, with churches, stores, businesses, restaurants. I was reading a sign and halfway through realized it was in Polish....
(Sunday- Windsor, which deserves its own post)
I spent Monday morning in the National Gallery. You could spend all day there.. I wish our museums back home were free.. Anywho, I went to see some Van Gogh and Monet because I have posters and a journal with their art so I wanted to see the originals. The museum has a computer station where you can customize a 'tour' and print it with all the titles and locations. Very useful. "An Experiment on a Bird" and "Christ before the High Priest" both have really striking use of light, at least to my uneducated eye. Especially the latter- it's all about the candle. We learned about "Saint Francis in Meditation" by Zurbaran in our Spanish civ and culture class. Claude had some really pretty sunsets in the background of his paintings. See "Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula." Michelangelo's "Entombment" and "The Manchester Madonna" are unfinished pieces. There was "Ecce Homo" by Rembrandt, as well as "Balshazzar's Feast"- I really liked that one. I won't bore you with the full list of works, but these are just a few I particularly enjoyed.
I walked through Trafalgar Square and got lost on the way to Piccadilly Circus and the Eros statue, took a detour through St. James's Park. Then off to Oxford Street via Soho Square. As part of the jubilee celebrations, there a pianos at random places around the city and you can play them. The square was crowded and there was a young tourist playing. It created a very pleasant atmosphere. I saw the British version of suits and bikes! Here, they use actual bicycles. There are also 'tube musicians.' I wonder if anyone ever stops and dances to the music....
The afternoon was spent on a bus tour around London with Ciocia Danusia. We saw soo much, drove all over London and it took about three hours.
"Who cares about Greece? I'm waiting until Ireland goes on sale."
Yes, that's a real tube advertisement.
Tuesday is Oxford, which also deserves a special post. :-)
(Sunday- Windsor, which deserves its own post)
I spent Monday morning in the National Gallery. You could spend all day there.. I wish our museums back home were free.. Anywho, I went to see some Van Gogh and Monet because I have posters and a journal with their art so I wanted to see the originals. The museum has a computer station where you can customize a 'tour' and print it with all the titles and locations. Very useful. "An Experiment on a Bird" and "Christ before the High Priest" both have really striking use of light, at least to my uneducated eye. Especially the latter- it's all about the candle. We learned about "Saint Francis in Meditation" by Zurbaran in our Spanish civ and culture class. Claude had some really pretty sunsets in the background of his paintings. See "Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula." Michelangelo's "Entombment" and "The Manchester Madonna" are unfinished pieces. There was "Ecce Homo" by Rembrandt, as well as "Balshazzar's Feast"- I really liked that one. I won't bore you with the full list of works, but these are just a few I particularly enjoyed.
I walked through Trafalgar Square and got lost on the way to Piccadilly Circus and the Eros statue, took a detour through St. James's Park. Then off to Oxford Street via Soho Square. As part of the jubilee celebrations, there a pianos at random places around the city and you can play them. The square was crowded and there was a young tourist playing. It created a very pleasant atmosphere. I saw the British version of suits and bikes! Here, they use actual bicycles. There are also 'tube musicians.' I wonder if anyone ever stops and dances to the music....
The afternoon was spent on a bus tour around London with Ciocia Danusia. We saw soo much, drove all over London and it took about three hours.
"Who cares about Greece? I'm waiting until Ireland goes on sale."
Yes, that's a real tube advertisement.
Tuesday is Oxford, which also deserves a special post. :-)
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