It's been a busy week!

Tuesday the 18th:

 

Went to the Courtauld Institute Gallery with my modern and contemporary art class and got to see many famous pieces by Cezanne, Manet, Monet, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Including the "Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, Easel and Japanese Print"(above)!

 

 

Naturally, on my way home I stumbled upon the epicenter of London Fashion Week. We couldn't get inside to see the actual show, but there was a screen to watch on and the music was definitely loud enough to hear from inside the tent.

There was quite the range of styles to be seen when the show ended...we probably saw lots of famous models and designers, but I had no idea who they were.

 

Wednesday the 19th:

 

 Maggie and I went on an adventure to find a free concert at Rough Trade East, the perfect hipster record store/coffee shop/concert venue in East London. In fact, it was so obscure that we couldn't find it for a long time.

 

 

We saw The Helio Sequence, who I believe has performed at Willamette before. They were really good, even though they didn't play too many songs. The store itself had a really great selection of music and an eclectic collection of books.

 

The walls and ceiling are covered in the signatures of bands who have played there, because being a hipster concert venue they found some pretty great bands before they became mainstream.

 

Thursday the 20th

 

For my London: Biography of a City class, we went on a walking tour (led by our hilarious professor) of Eastern London.

 

This is the oldest standing church in London, with the very modern Gherkin in the background! The juxtaposition of very old and very new buildings in this area is quite striking.

This is "The Monument", built in recognition of the great fire that destroyed much of London. There is a little tiny spiral staircase that goes up the center, with 311 steps to the top!

 

Though the climb was long, the views were worth it!

This is the Tower Bridge (not London Bridge)...they took the Olympic rings down already though :(

 

 Friday the 21st

 

Buckingham Palace Tours!

Since the Queen is coming back from Scotland at the beginning of October, almost all tours of Buckingham Palace are booked. However, Maggie, Susan, Anne and I were able to get passes for 'A Royal Day Out'. This included tours of the staterooms, the Royal Mews (stables) and admission to the Queen's Gallery. It was definitely worth it! Unfortunately we were not able to take any pictures inside the Palace, but we were able to take pictures of lots of other things.

 

The exhibition at the gallery right now is 'Leonard DaVinci:Anatomist'. It is the largest display of his anatomical drawings ever, and was absolutely fascinating.

 

Yes, all of his notes are actually written backwards, from right to left. Luckily I had a mirror in my bag, so I was able to actually read some of the writing! This is a diagram of what the human brain ought to look like, according to common knowledge and old philosophers. At this point he had not actually dissected any real brains.

 

This diagram of the muscles in the leg is revolutionary because it is the first to display them in cross-sections, like an MRI or CAT scan. In 1495, DaVinci was definitely ahead of his time.

 

 

The intricate detail of DaVinci's drawings is amazing, but it was obviously too time-consuming to keep re-drawing diagrams in his notes. One way that he coped with this was by poking tiny holes along the outline of some of his diagrams, such as this one of the women's cardiovascular system, so that he would have reference points to trace.

 

 



Even though we weren't able to take pictures of the state rooms or the Diamond Jubilee crown jewels exhibit (diamond encrusted swords! diamond encrusted snuff boxes! diamond encrusted tiaras!), we were able to take pictures on the back lawn.

 

We also toured the Royal Mews, which is basically the stable where the Queen's horses, carriages and Bentleys are kept.

 

 

There are lots of carriages to choose from, but the most opulent is the coronation carriage. Historically it has been so uncomfortable to ride in that many monarchs refused to use it, due to what Queen Victoria called "distressing oscillations".

 

Well, I think that is enough for now! Best of luck to everyone in the midst of midterms!