Love,
Annie
Two lovely spots I've seen so far, to tide you over till you can see them yourself, and to tide me over until I can get rambling again. Love London, but it's impossible not to sometimes miss the calm and space of the countryside. It's weird how loneliness can pervade both spaces - whether people are densely crowded or physically spread out. How do you create the ideal?
Love, Annie
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So much art history, so little time. On Tuesday I spent two hours at the National Gallery for class, then sauntered back for a Courtauld Gallery tour so that I could get to know the collection I live and work across from. One might have thought that I was museum'ed out, but no.
In Thursday's class we looked closely at one object (a Virgin and Child statue) for almost an hour. At one point we were all squatting on the floor to get a sense of the angle it was intended to be viewed at when I felt yup, I'm an art historian. This is what we do. It's a great feeling to gain knowledge by looking that hard at something that I otherwise would have breezed by and never understood. Monday night's 'pub quiz' provided some nice art history moments too. (The Renaissance sections have a weekly quiz section to make sure we have a broad base of visual images. This comes with wine, snacks, and teams, so it's much more fun than intimidating...so far.) Staring at two golden-haloed Madonnas I felt lucky to get to look and think and compare and analyze. And of course, hear what everyone else had to say as well. So the program part has been going well, but Thursday was a pretty stellar day on the whole. I grabbed coffee at a cute, vaguely hipster-y place with a tree stump serving as their cream and sugar bar. (Ok, probably more than vaguely.) I trotted off to Euston/Bloomsbury to get my British Library reader card; glory of glories, I now have access to an incredible collection that I've been salivating over online for far too long. I didn't request anything that day, but am super excited to work there. I wandered around the exhibits before grabbing lunch at the Bloomsbury farmers market (Thursdays 9-2), and registering at the UCL library as well. After early-afternoon class, I made a quick stop in the pub to chat with program people before heading to a friend's family's house for dinner. They were incredibly kind and welcoming. Coming back in the evening I took the scenic route home along the Embankment, and had yet another moment of "oh my God I LIVE here." And I would love to go on living here. The rest of my life after this is utterly up in the air, but that's ok because I get this experience. All in all, an excellent combination of productivity and exploration and socializing and dog time with the family's black lab. This post makes things seem pretty idyllic, and they have absolutely been going well. But living here means dealing with the mundane and quotidian too. For example: IT issues, bank queues, waking up, sleeping in, running late, swipe card struggles, grocery shopping, and budgeting, to name a few. It's just more fun to write about the exciting parts. I also like that this blog forces me to keep in the habit of writing, and reminds me about the importance of editing, grammar, and audience. So if there's something you're more (or less) curious about, do let me know! Love, Annie St. Paul's and Westminster Cathedrals are free for worship, and exorbitantly pricey for touring. So this past week I went to evensong at both of them for sung services in fantastic settings. Westminster felt pretty tailored to tourists, while St. Paul's felt (at least somewhat) more real and moving. I think the best bet would be to find a smaller church with an evensong service that isn't so crowded/touristy. However, the choirs were both outstanding, despite the distraction of people wandering about or being shepherded by the ushers. I loved experiencing the music, architecture, and art all at once - how it was intended to be!
The weather is still unseasonably warm and wonderful. Today: coffee, British Museum, and lunch with a friend, followed by the National Gallery. I love that it's actually part of my job (eh...studies) to go look at pretty things and think about them. I ended up in St. James' Park for the late afternoon light, the people-watching, the gusts of light breeze, the crunching leaves, and the putting off of my school reading. I'm showered and in pajamas now, with great plans for future trips around London and the UK (Hogmanay, here I come!). Funny moment from today: someone apologized to me and I unintentionally replied "no problem" in a distinctly English accent. Good thing we didn't have an actual conversation, or I would have been forced to keep it going. If I believed in hashtags, which I DON'T, I would probably call this one 'instinctive mimesis problems.' Catchy, right? Love, Annie So, it's been great having this in-between time with not too much to do other than settle in, philosophize, and explore. Now it's time to get down to the actual business of why I'm here. Oh, that's right...I signed on for a masters program. Our first class was today and I suddenly remembered that I'll be working here too! So expect less frequent posts, and much more knuckling down/library time. Vacation's over, loves. Gotta work for a living.
Love, Annie I don't think you've really lived in a place until you've done laundry there. Living out of a suitcase is great fun, but laundry brings you back to the practicalities of long-term existence. (So does running low on cash.)
But despite - or maybe because of - settling down, I have myriad lists of things to do here. I guess this has become a habit wherever I'm living, as I like searching out new places to explore. The lists are of, in no particular order: museums, markets, bookshops, coffee, churches, sights, bars, food, music, theatre & outdoors. (Suggestions welcomed in all categories.) And these are just for London; God help me when I start going other places in and out of the UK! The nice thing about having them is knowing I'll never be bored or lacking in options. They may sound exhausting, but I don't view them as rigid or mandatory - I just like to have the knowledge of fun and beautiful things easily available. I will be attempting to tackle as many as possible over the next year, and passing on any recommendations as I do. Love, Annie |
Author“Life is so uncertain: you never know what could happen. One way to deal with that is to keep your pajamas washed.” Categories
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