Hello again! Day 8 of London has ended. This blog may seem like a bit of a downer, since it is filled with what have been my least favored activities- but it was still a day that was very unique to London! Our group walked to The National Gallery. The National Gallery is filled with beautiful art, but as I have quickly learned, I am not a fan of art museums! Despite all of that, I could appreciate the work gone into each piece, as well as their beauty. My first stop at the museum was their cafe! I got an apple cinnamon loaf, salmon sandwich, and butter croissant. Amazing food as usual!
The first work in the museum that caught my eye was An Allegory with Venus and Time by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. I think this piece was interesting to me mainly because of the sheer size of it. It towered over me as I walked past, and this was emphasized by the fact that it leaned slightly off the wall. The piece seemed very angelic, and there was a nice contrast in light and shadowy palettes between the two halves of it. Something that also interested me about this piece and virtually all others was its framing. The frames in this museum were fabulous! I found myself looking out for ornate framing rather than paintings themselves.
Another section in the museum that piqued my curiosity was the one dedicated to Van Gogh. I got to see A Wheatfield, with Cypresses (1889), Two Crabs (1889), and Sunflowers (1888). It was really surreal to see his work in person, and this was easily the most enjoyable part from this whole museum because it was something I recognized right away. I think the main appeal of museums for me is that I have at least a little bit of background on the things I will be learning more about, but with art museums, this is often not the case; however, I do know a little about Van Gogh! Knowing the man behind the pieces made me have a bigger interest in them for sure.
After the museum, me and another group member went back to Chinatown to get some dim sum! We went to Orient London (once again), and it was just as delicious as before. After dim sum we got some matcha ice cream at a very cute bakery. The ice cream was in a fish shaped cone called taiyaki! Then we took the tube back to our hotel and I watched the rest of Stranger Things (this new season was the best yet!). Before I knew it, it was time to go to our musical of the day, Lift!
As a group, we went to Southwark Playhouse, and of course I got some sorbet before the show (strawberry this time). Lift was a very confusing musical. Normally I am beaming after seeing a show, but this one left me with more questions than smiles. Lift covered the story of people in an elevator, and how their lives intersected. The things that confused me most about this musical were the abrupt scene changes between each character’s story, and how some characters were played by the same people in different storylines. The music was amazing, I just wasn’t sure how exactly each song fit into the place they were being sung. The cast was very talented, and the ladies of the musical were killing it! I think that if you did a good amount of research on this play before going, it could be worth buying a ticket; however, I don’t think I could recommend it above the other shows I have seen while on this trip so far.
So yes, today wasn’t exactly a “hit” for me, but they were things I could not do in the US- because of that, I’m still glad I did them! Tomorrow’s blog will be full of beautiful pictures (hopefully…) since we are going to Borough Market and Sky Garden! See you then 🙂
Theatre in London U of A 