Friday Night at the V&A

You may have noticed that I didn't finish my London Travelogue.  Adrenal issues and autoimmune flares got in the way.  But I did want to share a magical night:

Friday was spent at the Natural History Museum, one of my favorite places on earth.  It was a welcome Cathedral to Science after the ostentation of monarchy and aristocracy.  Personal endeavor and accomplishment!

Natural History Museum

Then I met back up with my mom and we headed next door to the Victoria and Albert Museum, aka the V&A.  They have the most gorgeous cafe there, which we happily stumbled up.  Need a rest and a glass of wine?  This is the place to go!

V&A

Now picture a grand piano between the pillars, playing the most enjoyable and relaxing music, while you relax with excellent company.  These are the moments I love in life, where fortune smilingly gifts something wonderful which I could never have imagined.

Back in the museum proper, a fashion event was taking place.  A DJ was spinning, well dressed students were mingling, and there I was in the middle!  Viewing Trajan's column while reggae drifts through the museum is an incredibly cool way to end a week.

London Travelogue: Day 4, British Museum

17. Oct, 2013
Day 4 was so full that I've been intimidated to attempt to chronicle the highlights.  I'll have to tackle it one venue at a time, starting with the British Museum.  This post has been simmering away in my mind, and I've been researching more from home, so hopefully I can do the day justice.

I was up and out early, and hit the British Museum.  It is an enormous building, and holds the most amazing objects from around the world.  These guard statues from Assyria were incredible!  The rediscovered ancient Assyrian palaces are such a treasure.  I'm in awe of ancient people: the depth of their accomplishments impresses me here-and-now!

Assyrian Palace guard statues, palace friezes in background.  © Neil Howard

I saw the Rosetta stone, and geeked out over the cuneiform exhibit.  It's interesting to see how practical the introduction of language was: the first clay cuneiform tokens marked the contents of storage containers, then agricultural transactions.  The pictograms eventually rotated 90 degrees and became more abstract.  A key to cracking cuneiform, and hieroglyphics, was realizing that the symbols represent syllables rather than full words.

I really enjoyed the ancient Egypt section, especially the early mummies.  It's amazing that this young man's body has been preserved for almost 6,000 years.  He made ancient Egypt relatable to me in a way that preserved mummies and sarcophagi did not.

"Gebelein Man"

The Parthenon sculptures and friezes are beautiful, and seeing a Parthenian column demonstrates the temple's tremendous size.  This sculpture of reclining goddesses retains some original paint:

Three Goddesses of Athenian Parthenon

The British Museum used to house the British Library, with the Reading Room its hub.  Now used for special exhibits, here's a panoramic photo as it was:

I think that heaven must look like this

The British Museum's covered courtyard, and Reading Room at center:

Central Courtyard, © Greg Knapp

The British Museum is a jewel, and I wish I'd had more than one day to wander through it.  What I did see, I loved.  The courtyard is a fascinating place, blending exterior and interior.

London Travelogue: Day 3

16. Oct, 2013
Wednesday's agenda was simple: visit my friend Pauline.  Anything else was gravy.

I took the tube to Hyde Park Corner, which is one of the busiest intersections in London and thus completely mad.  I got lost in the middle of the giant roundabout: I believe I was confusing the Artillery and Machine gun memorials, silly me.  I eventually found my way and caught my bus.

Hyde Park Corner

I had a lovely visit with my friend!  It was very nice to be in a comfortable, homey place just chatting.  After so many new sights and experiences, familiarity was very welcome.  She's the first long-distance internet friend I've met :)

I rode the bus back, watching the sun set pink against the white stone buildings of Baker Street.  When I returned to the hotel it was time for dinner, where I chatted with a friendly Londoner with a Cockney accent.  It may not sound like the most eventful day, but I had a lovely time :)

A Conversation (only in London)

Sitting and reading on our hotel beds:

Mom: "Do you know what people are saying when they say bollocks?!?"
Me: (can I say balls to my mom?) "...Yes, it means testicle."

I then informed her that fanny has a very different meaning than in US English.  It was an interesting evening!

London Travelogue: Day 2

15. Oct, 2013:
Tuesday!  My first full day in London, and where to start?  We chose Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the Tate Gallery.  Plus a walk through St James Park to Buckingham Palace.

Walking up to Westminster, what do I spy around the corner?  Hello Big Ben!  I hadn't realized, but Big Ben is gilded.  All sorts of London buildings are gilded, which makes them lovely but sometimes too ostentatious for my Colonial tastes, haha.

Westminster Abbey's exterior is impressive, but inside it's just jaw-droppingly amazing.  Even to modern eyes the verticality is incredible.  The level of detail is astounding--even now I look at photos and can't quite believe it.  Excellent architectural use is made of daylight, so the interior is much brighter than you'd think.  I was jet lagged so didn't take any exterior photos, and photography is not allowed inside.  It's honestly difficult to get far enough away to take exterior photos.  It would have involved crossing streets, and I was still working on not being run over.  Extra crossing of streets was not on my agenda just yet.

West entrance, where you enter for tours

Westminster Abbey from the London Eye

I loved Poet's Corner!  Many of my favorite authors have memorial stones here.  The Brontë sisters' memorial reads "With Courage to Endure."  I'd hope for something more upbeat, myself.  Shakespeare has a life-sized statue.  It was really amazing to see remembrances of so many talented writers.  I enjoyed merit winning out in that way, unlike the aristocrats and royals who fill most of the cathedral.  You can look up your favorite author here.

The memorial for Elizabeth I is very elaborate.  Mary Tudor is buried under Elizabeth, with the inscription "Partners in throne and grave, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of the Resurrection."  That seemed a nice sentiment to me, considering how militant they were in life.  James I, son of Mary Queen of Scots, built his mother as nice a tomb as Elizabeth's.  Guess he showed her!

I also wandered around the cloisters, which felt on a human scale after the cathedral.  There are offices still in use around the Abbey, and people still attend services there.  On one side is a garden, and I enjoyed seeing the old walls and more personal aspects of this incredible site.

Westminster Hall

Next up were the Houses of Parliament, which includes Big Ben.  Parliament is also very impressive, and actually started out life as a palace.  The central Westminster Hall was a dining hall originally, and you could host quite the banquet!  The whole complex is a fascinating mesh of buildings, sometimes with original walls embedded in modern ones.

I was able to sit in on the House of Commons!  It's pretty incredible to sit in a place I'd read about for years, and had imagined, but never expected to see.  Sitting in the observation balcony, you can imagine yourself as a bystander to history.  Throughout Parliament, there is information about the history of the building, including an alarming map of the WWII bomb damage.

I can't adequately put my impressions of Parliament and the Abbey into words.  Westminster is an incredible area, and I highly recommend a visit if you're able.


Then I visited the Tate Gallery.  It's a 1km walk south along the Thames, past Thames House (home of MI5).  We walked through Victoria Tower Gardens, which is a royal garden and very strict.  I don't think you're actually allowed to have fun in royal gardens.

Tate Britain contains 500 years of artwork, arranged by era.  There are many famous paintings, but my favorite pieces were new.  I especially enjoyed the genre paintings and portraits of everyday women.  After all the men represented in Westminster Abbey and Parliament, it was nice to see some female faces again.

I really loved this painting: she's over 2m tall and has a wonderful expression.

Woman Smiling

I ended the day with a walk through St James Park, past Buckingham Palace as the sun began to set.  The sky glows pink on the stone buildings, it was my favorite time of day in London.  The setting sun also lit up the gilded Victoria memorial, and was something to behold.

Angels atop the Victoria Memorial

My take away thought from Westminster Abbey: They've got a lot of people socked away under the floor.  And various monarchs in boxes around the place.  It's just not a typical thing in my life that you bury people inside.  I'm curious now to look up how exactly they bury folks.  Do the stones come up?  They don't appear to.  Is there subterranean access?  Enquiring minds want to know...

London Travelogue: Day 1

14. Oct, 2013:

After flying overnight I arrived in Heathrow at noon.  All architecture in London seems designed to impress, and much of it to overwhelm, the viewer.  In a visceral sense you understand this was the capital city of an Empire.  My first impression, however, was bewilderment.  And stunned disbelief: I couldn't believe I was actually in London!  After dropping off bags at the hotel, and gratefully stretching my body out flat, we were off.

First it's the V&A!  The Victoria and Albert Museum houses decorative arts, so there's something for everyone.  I really enjoyed the historical fashions, the statuary, and the Victorian gallery with items from the Great Exhibition.  There are fun interactive exhibits, too, and I tried on a corset and farthingale.  I still prefer jeans and tees ;)

This baby dress was hand knitted from sewing thread, using 1.5 million stitches.  It won Sarah Ann Cunliffe a Bronze medal.  I wonder who won Gold!

Handknit baby dress, V&A

The statues are amazing.  There's a cast of Trajan's column so large that it has to be displayed in two parts.  I saw it from the upper walkway, which was a great perspective.  I love Rodin's work, and he's amply represented.  There are also many, many marble busts of dead white guys. 

Trajan's column

After closing time at the V&A, it was off to Harrods.  The walk was interesting, along busy streets and through a Lebanese area of Knightsbridge.  The Food Hall was like the UN meets Whole Foods.    At this point I was overwhelmed, and tired, so we stopped for dinner at one of the cafes.  Then headed back to the hotel to rest and sleep.  It was a long day--up Sunday morning, traveling through the night, and to bed on Monday night!

(part of) Harrods Food Hall

*The following days I did bring my camera, so stay tuned for non-internet photos.