Up till two weeks ago it had been seven long years since I'd been back to London and boy oh boy was I looking forward to going back, even if I had to do (yuck!) work in the form of a conference presentation to justify it. I returned to Indiana on Sunday from nine long days in that city on the Thames, suffused with visions of pubs, street art, corgis, markets, fashion hijinks, sandwiches, dear old friends, and familiar places as seen from the top of a double-decker bus. I forgot to bring my camera (though I had the one in my phone) so the pictures below could be better, but I think you'll get the idea...
Lord Nelson at Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery.
One of the kitties I saw every day.
Who taught the hippies about street art?
The Strand, near LSE and the Courts of Justice.
Outside St. Paul's cathedral where I attended a service so as to get out of paying the $22 entrance fee. Sorry about that god.
St. Paul's and the Millenium Bridge from inside the Tate Modern.
Beautiful Gerhard Richter abstracts at the Tate.
One of the Rothko paintings in the Seagram's room - one of my top ten favorite rooms in the world. I sat here listening to Radiohead and cried with happiness.
Currently "missing" Chinese artist
Ai Weiwei's "Sunflower Seeds", more than 100 million hand-painted and hand-fired seeds filling the Tate's Turbine Hall. Beautiful and sad.
A cheerier sight: a girl with a tiny wee top hat affixed to her head sketching dead birds pinned to the wall. I love modern art.
Bridget Riley's To a Summer's Day.
Another favorite room: Soviet propaganda posters from the museum's collection.
Sunset over the Thames.
Spitalfields market from a church yard in my old neighborhood.
Having coffee in the urban environs of Carrie's neighborhood.
I was irate upon first seeing this Chihuly sculpture at the Victoria & Albert museum but it has since grown on me (a little). Still, does the only thing from Seattle in the collection have to be this?
Medieval castings at the V&A.
So much art nouveau/arts & crafts; it's almost as if they are readying themselves for Mark Siano's 2012 Olympics visit.
A highlight of my day.
Triple portrait of Charles I, 1750, and a clear predecessor to those eerie school portraits with both profile and front-views. If only Chuck I here had posed with his chin in his hands it would have been perfect.
South Kensington
Museum of Natural History
Making faces at La Porchetta
THANK JEEBUS THAT IS OVER WITH
Carrie loves getting department store makeovers, and I have to admit I kind of do too
She also loves napping in parks, being called "Dr. H", and taking pictures that give the illusion of semi-paralysis of the face
Me, I just like sandwiches
And gaping at consumer goods
And savory pies
And gin/grapefruit sorbet
And the way that springtime sunny days in Britain fill every available green space with bbqs, open containers, and very happy people.
My my that was nice. Now just ONE MORE cup of tea and I'm totally going to start writing my dissertation...
Lord Nelson at Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery.
One of the kitties I saw every day.
Who taught the hippies about street art?
The Strand, near LSE and the Courts of Justice.
Outside St. Paul's cathedral where I attended a service so as to get out of paying the $22 entrance fee. Sorry about that god.
St. Paul's and the Millenium Bridge from inside the Tate Modern.
Beautiful Gerhard Richter abstracts at the Tate.
One of the Rothko paintings in the Seagram's room - one of my top ten favorite rooms in the world. I sat here listening to Radiohead and cried with happiness.
Currently "missing" Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's "Sunflower Seeds", more than 100 million hand-painted and hand-fired seeds filling the Tate's Turbine Hall. Beautiful and sad.
A cheerier sight: a girl with a tiny wee top hat affixed to her head sketching dead birds pinned to the wall. I love modern art.
Bridget Riley's To a Summer's Day.
Another favorite room: Soviet propaganda posters from the museum's collection.
Sunset over the Thames.
Spitalfields market from a church yard in my old neighborhood.
Having coffee in the urban environs of Carrie's neighborhood.
I was irate upon first seeing this Chihuly sculpture at the Victoria & Albert museum but it has since grown on me (a little). Still, does the only thing from Seattle in the collection have to be this?
Medieval castings at the V&A.
So much art nouveau/arts & crafts; it's almost as if they are readying themselves for Mark Siano's 2012 Olympics visit.
A highlight of my day.
Triple portrait of Charles I, 1750, and a clear predecessor to those eerie school portraits with both profile and front-views. If only Chuck I here had posed with his chin in his hands it would have been perfect.
South Kensington
Museum of Natural History
Making faces at La Porchetta
THANK JEEBUS THAT IS OVER WITH
Carrie loves getting department store makeovers, and I have to admit I kind of do too
She also loves napping in parks, being called "Dr. H", and taking pictures that give the illusion of semi-paralysis of the face
Me, I just like sandwiches
And gaping at consumer goods
And savory pies
And gin/grapefruit sorbet
And the way that springtime sunny days in Britain fill every available green space with bbqs, open containers, and very happy people.
My my that was nice. Now just ONE MORE cup of tea and I'm totally going to start writing my dissertation...
6 comments:
Panda sandals! These photos are awesome-some. How could I ever go back to London if you aren't there?
Where's the photo of you and the ruff?
Oh wow, what an amazing time you had. I really wish we had gotten to see you! Love the picture of the tree, I pass that everyday and it always makes me laugh.
Great pictures, Erika. I loved the cross-cultural pandas in London, but it was everyone bbq-ing in the park that really made me loooong.
PS: Congrats on rocking your lecture.
Thanks guys!
You really must have those shoes! And wear them with the ruff.
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