Monday 17/1/11

Okay, to start off I just want you to know, I walked around in heels today. What an experience! (So just keep that in mind as you read about my day.)

We got to see St.Paul's Cathedral today!!! I loved this cathedral! It is the second biggest cathedral in the world! (second to St.Peter's Cathedral in Italy!) But it was gorgeous! Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures in there, so I took pictures elsewhere.  Like in the upper galleries of the Cathedral in which we had to climb about 523 steps to get to the top.  Besides the view and all the intricate work on the ceilings and walls, my favorite part of the cathedral was the whispering gallery.  One person would stand on one side of the dome and another person on the other.  One had to whisper into the walls and the person on the other side would be able to hear it because of the shape of the dome itself. It was very cool. Amanda and I tried it out a couple times before heading up the other 400 steps to get to the highest point in the tower to take aerial views of London. The whole experience of the cathedral was amazing and I loved every minute of it! After we left St. Paul's, we went to the National Gallery. (Picture below)

This was a beautifully designed building with many brilliant works of art done by many brilliant artists.  For example, Constable with his painting of The Hay Wain, and Van Eyck with his painting of the Arnolfini Portrait.  There was also many works by DaVinci, Cezanne and Degas. A Degas work of art that really struck me was 'After the bath, woman drying herself'.  Its an extraordinary picture done in pastels. Its amazing to me how artists can use pastels. They seem like a very hard medium to use!  My computer wont let me upload a picture of it but you can Google it if you just type in the artist and the title.  The pastel work is described as follows:


"This densely worked pastel is executed on several pieces of paper mounted on cardboard. Degas seems to have extended the composition while working on it, hence the need for additional pieces of paper.This work is one of a series of similar subjects dating from this period, when bathers and dancers were the artist's principal themes. Here Degas has exploited the flexibility of the pastel medium, creating sumptuous textures and blurred contours which emphasise the movement of the figure."

After we finished the National Gallery, we came back to our hotel and rested for a little bit.  Then we went out to dinner at the Imperial Hotel (which is connected to the Presidents Hotel) where I had a nice salad.  It was a fun day! Tomorrow we are going to Dulwich to see the Picture Gallery there.  Can't wait for that! but as for now, im outta here!

Cheerio!

View of Tate Modern and Millennium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral

Question of the Day: How do you feel now that you have seen the monument that you were assigned? Is it better or worse than you expected?
I presented on St. Paul's Cathedral and I'm so glad I did! It is an amazing cathedral with beautifully designed architecture and hand painted ceilings that are so full of detail! St. Paul's is so much better than I ever expected!