This past weekend I spent in London. It was a whirlwind trip, and it was an amazing experience. I knew before I got there that London was a huge city, but until I started walking around and seeing the sites, I really had no perception of how expansive it actually is. I saw a great number of sights, but at the same time, I still have so much more to see. I am really looking forward to going back again to see the rest.
During this trip, I had the pleasure of seeing a musical "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" which was a tale about a group of cross dressers venturing through the Australian Outback to find the main character's son. It was an interesting, and at times humorous commentary on gender roles, sexuality, and the modern family's values and boundaries. The costumes were nothing short of incredible, and the music was amazing. The photo below is of the entrance to the theatre where the musical was held.
The following day, I toured around the city and got to see Big Ben for the first time. Just the sight of it was staggering. It was simply magnificent! I was very happy that the weather was also beautiful, such that I was able to take several gorgeous photos of it. Unfortunately Parliament is being restored, so I ended up with bunches of unsightly scaffolding in my photos which needed to be cropped out. Hopefully when I go next, the construction will be over!
After seeing Big Ben, we went to the National Gallery (Art Museum, paintings only). We weren't allowed photos inside, but I took the following pictures outside of the museum which had a large fountain surrounded by statues and street performers. I only got to see a few of the galleries inside before my feet gave out (it was the end of the day by then), so I am hoping to go back to see the rest.
This is a photo of a statue which is situated at the top of a really tall column. I thought the way the clouds looked made it look especially epic.
This photo turned out really well. I love how it looks like the lion is protecting the city.
This is a photo of one of the fountains in front of the gallery. It was amazing to me how everyway I turned there seemed to be another piece of artwork. Everything in the city is so cultural and so inspired. It was almost overwhelming how much there was to see.
While walking to my next destination, I found a building that was called "Institute of Mechanical Engineers," and I just had to take a picture next to it!
While in London I got to take advantage of the copious amounts of parks and gardens available to the public. They were are all immaculate--which I was impressed by for a city of its size. I don't think I saw a single piece of litter my entire trip! The following are some photos I snapped of the gardens and parks that I visited.
My last highlight of my weekend trip was a trip to the British Museum which holds a wide variety of historical artifacts such as the Rosetta Stone (used as a key to understanding the hieroglyphics), mummies, and Greek and Roman marbles. I was informed while I was there that the marbles had been rescued from their original location due to the fact that they were being mistreated and were due to be torn down and destroyed. I can't even imagine why anyone would want to destroy such an extraordinary piece of history and art! But I am really glad that they were saved and that I got to see them. The photos below are from the museum. I was especially attracted to the marbles, since most of the subject matter is human subject in dramatic and interesting poses. These types of subjects are those which I prefer to paint and draw, and I probably could have spent hours just examining the detail in each one.
Overall, London was one of my favorite cities that I've ever visited! It was full of interesting artistic and cultural opportunities (all of which I have yet to discover) and the amount of history around every corner was staggering. I was really happy to have visited a place which I feel is more of what I was expecting England to be. I love Southampton, but the city was badly damaged in WWII and was never built back up to its full glory. So it was especially nice to tap into some of the history that I haven't found where I live here.
Cheers,
Sarah
