I woke up this morning and ate some Pop Tarts for breakfast. Ramsay Hall was not open to us today. I'm not really sure why. It didn't really matter though, because it was around 9:00 a.m. by the time I woke up. Since I had finished all of my papers and the places I intended on seeing wouldn't open until 10:00 p.m. anyways, I figured it best to sleep in. I honestly don't remember the last time I slept until 9:00 p.m. It was nice.
After breakfast though, I got my things together and headed down towards Oxford Street. I stopped and spoke to Dr. Ross and his wife on my way down there and he mentioned that he planned on going to Hyde Park. He said he had never been there. You would think that a man who has been to England as many times as he has would have been to Hyde Park. I was a bit astonished. Nevertheless, I continued to Oxford Street and went into the store I was looking for, then walked to the Tottenham Court Road station and then rode down to Blackfriars to go to the Tate Modern art gallery.
The Tate Modern is an enormous art gallery sitting right on the Thames River. Much of Tate Modern is open space and the building itself is a great example of modern art. With high reaching ceilings, vast expanses of exposed steel and concrete works, the actual home of all of these fine pieces of modern art is in and of itself a work of art. I spent a good bit of time there in the morning walking around and seeing some really fantastic pieces of art. I saw several pieces that I had seen photos of in my art appreciation class several years ago. I saw work by people like Picasso, Pollock, Lichstein, Monet, and Warhol. I also saw a room filled with some spectacular works of art by artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo--it was quite beautiful. The thing I love about art is just how subjective it really is. A lot of the things in there, most people would not consider art at all--some where as simple as mere pieces of steel and PVC welded together to form an unrecognizable object. But, that's the thing about art work, isn't it? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and just because one person may look at a piece of art and think it's silly, ridiculous, or just plain ugly doesn't mean it's not art. When you look at an enormous canvas that is simply red with a purple line going down one side, is that art? To some, it is, to some it is not. But I'd say whether you like it or not does not make it any less artistic. Of course, I don't always agree with the analysis that certain pieces of art are groundbreaking and are speaking volumes about the artist's theories on life, but I respect them for the art they are.
Once I was done browsing around, I stopped in the cafe there to grab a light snack before taking a boat ride down to Tate Britain. I bought a chocolate muffin that was horrible, so I threw it away. I then walked outside and got an ice cream cone that was far more satisfying. I stopped in a little art book shop nearby, took a look around, then made my way to the boat. I just barely made the boat, as they don't make very clear where you're supposed to get on at. From there I rode for about ten minutes up the Thames, taking photographs, and enjoying the beauty of the whole situation. The weather was lovely today. It was without a doubt a great day to ride a boat down the Thames. Finally, I arrived at Tate Britain and did much of the same looking around as I did at Tate Modern.
I hate to say it, but I'm not entirely sure that I gave these galleries the respect they deserve. There is simply so much art work on display that, frankly, I didn't have the time or the interest to observe all of it. With so many rooms and so many works of art in each room, one could easily spend hours, if not days, just looking around and admiring the art works. But even though I rushed through the galleries, I did thoroughly enjoy them and I believe that counts for something. I don't feel like I've missed anything or somehow not gotten the full experience the galleries had to offer.
After Tate Britain, I took the Victoria line from Pimlico Station back to Warren Street station then walked back to the dorms. Once back in the dorms, I piddled around a bit then took a nap until a little bit after 5:00 p.m. I then walked down to Samurai and got the same spicy chicken and sticky rice dish I got last week. It was just as delicious as it was last week. The woman at the counter really hooked me up on the food. It was more than enough to eat. Gideon, Gabe, and I sat around and talked while eating dinner. They were having Kentucky Fried Chicken and according to them it was pretty good. The KFCs here don't served mashed potatoes for some reason, but they do serve French fries. Also they don't serve biscuits and I don't think they serve macaroni and cheese or cole slaw. But, they do serve corn. I guess you can't have everything, can you?
Earlier today, after dealing with three frustrating telephone booths, I made a call from the lobby of the dorms to a restaurant called Camino. Five of us are going there tomorrow night for a nice dinner out. Camino is a Spanish restaurant (not Mexican) that serves steaks and lots of Spanish dishes that sound pretty tasty. I'm glad we were able to get reservations and I'm looking forward to going.
It occurred to me today that we only have two days left here in London. I suspect tomorrow will go by pretty fast since I have a presentation and a final to take in class. I plan to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I may also ride down to Abbey Road, although I'm not a very big Beatles fan so I may just end up skipping that. I don't really have anything planned for Thursday except that Donald and I may be going to an Italian restaurant down the street that is supposed to be really good. Dr. Ross recommended to us in the meeting yesterday that we get at least four or five hours of sleep before our plane ride on Friday morning. As I've mentioned earlier, we will be leaving here about 4:15 a.m. (which means we have to be downstairs at around 3:45 a.m.) to get to Heathrow Airport and fly to Frankfurt. I personally disagree with this. I don't plan to sleep at all that night, but instead sleep on the plane from Frankfurt to Atlanta.
The plane ride from Frankfurt to Atlanta is actually supposed to be longer than the flight coming out here (which was eight hours long) and if that is the case, I don't want to be awake for the entire nine hour flight. I didn't sleep at all on the way out here and I know that if I go to bed early and wake up at 3:45 a.m., I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep on the plane. I'd much rather just stay awake through the morning and then sleep on the way back to Atlanta. I don't think it would mess with my typical sleep cycle too much, since we will be back in the States in the early afternoon anyways. I had considered taking something to help go to sleep, but I'm not sure how I'd handle it so I'm just going to try the natural method.
Photos of today's time in London can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494714@N03/
P.S. I'm currently working on my 31st day of Internet access here at Astor College. I hate to beat a dead horse, but I do suspect it will be going out sometime soon. I'm actually surprised I've had it this week and if it lasts to tomorrow or Thursday I'll be amazed. Nonetheless, I just want to remind people so you don't think I'm rude or that I've forgotten you if I don't respond. Thanks a lot for all of you keeping in contact with me.
