London, Day #29

Friday (the day of insanity// last full day in London)

1. Go to the post office and send back two packages to the U.S., expensive, exhausting and time-consuming.

2. Make our way to Abbey Road and soon find out that the underground line we need to take is entirely closed.

3. Arrive at Abbey Road by way of alternative underground/bus routes. Attempt to take photos for about 30-40 minutes. Boy were the drivers there livid!

4. Walk to Regent's Park, split a sandwich and a bag of crisps.

5. Rent a rowboat for 30 minutes, and then proceed with no directions onto the boating lake. End up only going roughly 20 ft. off the shore, to then return after about 26 minutes.

6. Walk to the Sherlock Holmes museum and check out the gift shop, but make no purchases, and do not view the entire museum, just one part that was next to the Loo.

7. Take the tube to Berwick Street Market. Look around, find nothing too interesting except a couple of food stalls, walk to Carnaby street and realize it is not what it used to be, and it will never be what it used to be... again.

8. Walk to Claridge's Hotel, Quickly freshen up in the loo/washroom, check our bags at the coat check.

9. Arrive at the tea room and are promptly seated for tea.

10. Lavender Earl Gray + Pomegranate Oolong.

11. Cucumber, Rocket + Cream Cheese - Poached Salmon + Herbed Mayonnaise - Egg Mayonnaise + Cress - Hummus, Roasted Peppers, Spinach, Red Onions + Artichoke Hearts - Cheddar Cheese + Mango Chutney.

12. Dragon Jasmine Pearls + Bolero (teas).

13. Raisin Scones, Apple Scones, Devonshire Cream, Tea Infused Jelly.

14. Champagne Gelatin + Fruit Compote, Vanilla Cream with Puff Pastry.

15. Free tea tins with their signature blend.

16. Find our way to the Garrick Theatre to pick up our tickets for Pygmalion.

17. Walk to Covent Garden and watch a man juggle a sword, fruit and a functioning chainsaw while in his underwear.

18. Driven in a rickshaw back to the theatre and have a glass of Pinot Grigio, each.

19. Enjoy the wonders of live theatre, enjoying the magnificent talent of Diana Rigg, Rupert Everett and co.

20. Meet Diana Rigg (a charming and wonderful woman), get her autograph, proceed to be starstruck all the way to the tube.

21. Take the tube back to Wimbledon with a temporary stranding at South Ken. Station.

22. Pack.

23. Sleep!

London, Day #28

Thursday

Today was my last day of class! I was both happy and sad to end the course, but really I just think I got a ton out of taking it. I know you all may miss me, but I have learned a lot and I look forward to sharing parts of my trip with all of you.

We started class today with a sort of seminar-style discussion on our paper topics. Some people decided to share their topics, I did not. I know what I am writing about and I didn't feel that I needed any further information on my topic (now to get to finishing the writing of my paper). Pierre brought croissants for everyone which was extremely sweet of him.

After the seminar, we ate at the dim sum chain restaurant Ping Pong, which was amazing! The food was of great quality, and they had a ton of vegetarian options (which was good for people who are vegetarians or people like me who don't eat pork and would prefer seafood in my risotto). The cost wasn't that bad either, everyone was full from their orders (in a good way).

After lunch we had our slide exam. During the exam I felt I had no problems writing about the actual works, but I forgot a couple of names and missed a couple of dates... so is the life of an art history major, yeah? I'm sure I did fine on the exam altogether, and I'm sure the paper will be fine as well. Then we all said goodbye and went our separate ways.

Then my mom and I did a little bit of shopping and eventually made our way home by way of Selfridges & Co. (just for a peek). We collected several salad-type things from Marks & Spencer (like cooked chopped beets, orzo and roasted tomatoes, couscous and chicken and just plain lettuce) and made a sort of mixed salad for dinner. It was delicious.

And that was Thursday.

London, Day #27

Wednesday

I am so excited that my mom is finally here! Today we took the train into the city together, and then she went to the Courtauld Gallery and I went to class.

Today was our last day of structured lectures of which we had two. Both of these lecturers were women who had never lectured our class before, and both of them were great.
The first lecture was on Gothic themes in Contemporary Art. We talked about the idea of defining the Gothic in history as well as style, and it was really an interesting concept that was brought up. However, if you know me, you know very well that I am afraid of anything that is even remotely scary, so I did not particularly care for most of the works we looked at in this lecture. The creepiest thing she talked about was a work by Gregor Schneider called "The Family Schneider." Look it up if you wish, the title is actually in German, the work was made in 2004.

Our second lecture was on alternative art spaces in London in which we looked at a lot of the types of things the YBAs were doing in the 80's and 90's. The basic idea is sort of, to rent out a space and use it alternatively to the mainstream galleries and establishments. Of course this whole purpose was destroyed when mainstream people like Jay Joplin and Charles Saatchi would show up and buy artist's works for their collection. The concept was really interesting, but I don't really know that it lasted. So who wants to start a guerilla gallery with me?

Speaking of Guerilla art, I hope you've all seen this! I think it's brilliant, and I honestly don't think I'd care if I got water-based paint all over my tires.

After these lectures we all went to the Whitechapel Gallery in the East End. We saw two exhibitions there, Fred Sandback and Thomas Struth. Sandback does these works with wires and strings that are very intriguing, most of which are drilled straight into the ceiling or floor. I think I'd like to experiment with Sandback-esque installations, but not so much the drilling part.

Then we partook in a delicious meal of Indian cuisine on Brick Lane, and that was really my whole day!