I left this morning, determined to wipe’s yesterday’s museum misstep off the books.
I was on my way to the Tate Modern to see some art and get inspired. And I was opting for the bus instead of the Tube because I checked online and saw many underground stations had alerts posted. I’m learning that they break down frequently when it rains. An unfortunate issue if you live in England. Here are just a few of my musings on why the bus is superior to the Tube:
- It takes one step to get on the bus. Going onto the second level of course requires more, but it’s optional;
- You can actually see a great deal of the city while you’re en route to your destination;
- They’re clean and cozy inside;
- They cost less.
- Rain! If it rains hard enough, the Tube stations shut down.
Visiting Tate Modern
I caught the bus near Russell Square park and (for some reason) got off at Waterloo Bridge. In retrospect, I thought the museum was closer to this area than it really was. Anyway, I began my trek to find the Tate.
I knew it was going to rain, but chose to leave my trench coat at home. It’s bulky and annoying to carry inside museums, so I made a choice. Plus, I brought an umbrella, and had a scarf. And, I’m from a rainy climate. I figured could hack it. Plus, I had an umbrella.
Things were fine for about 10 minutes and then I felt a few drops. It was pleasant, really.
Luckily for me, I was lured into a shop to check out some Guinea pig ceramic mugs and some other random curiosities, and as I was admiring some lovely pea pod shaped ice cube trays, the rain outside began coming down in buckets.
Everyone on the street piled into the shop to take cover. I continued to window shop inside the store for a while, then felt like I needed to get going, so I took out my umbrella and went on my way. It turned out I wasn’t far from the museum by that time, but it was so rainy that by the time I arrived at the museum, the bottom of my jeans were pretty soaked. The rain comes down here in multiple directions.
Worse than being wet, the cafe on the first floor of the Tate was closed.
I hadn’t had any decent coffee yet that day and had really been counting on a caffeine pick-me-up when I got there. Oh well. I got over it.
The exhibits were fun and interesting ranging from well-known works from Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, to large scale sculptures and media installations. I regret I didn’t jot down the names of some these, but here are a few samples of the works I viewed.
The final floor included many contemporary recognizable pieces and an interesting room on feminist art. I was surprised the collection was not bigger, but it was well worth the visit!
After walking through the last hall on the fourth floor, I struck some luck and found an open cafe. Finally, coffee time! time.
By now, my head was pounding because I hadn’t eaten much for breakfast and only had half of a sad little mug of instant coffee at the flat. I don’t know what I was thinking. After purchasing a coffee, I was lucky enough to find a seat amongst the other drenched museum patrons just like myself. I sipped coffee and ate the sandwich and an apple I packed at my flat that morning and plotted my route out of there.
Leaving the Tate, I found I wasn’t anywhere near a Tube stop or a bus stop, but the Millennium Bridge was just a few steps away. Honestly, I hadn’t looked very closely at the map before hand, so this came as a very nice surprise. It began to pour down rain again as I headed over the bridge. I rather enjoy rain most of the time, so by this time I was doing my best to enjoy it.
From the middle of the bridge, I could spot London Bridge in the distance, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (not pictured) was just on the bank almost next door to the Tate.
I am finding this is how every day plays out. I’m heading to one destination, and I end up seeing at least a couple other points of interest by sheer chance.
At the end of the bridge, I found myself directly in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. The cathedral wasn’t on my agenda, but there it was, so I decided I would go inside and take a look. There was, however, an £18.00 admission which I quicky opted out of and turned to leave. I loitered inside the foyer long enough to see the massive interior of the dome which was frankly, breathtaking. I’m not usually very excited about churches, but this one was beautiful.
Outside, the details were just as striking and I enjoyed seeing the statues of Queen Victoria and the paving patterns in the cobblestones.
I began heading west from there, and with luck I spotted a bus stop.
I looked to see that there were three different buses scheduled to be along soon that would be heading to Trafalger Square, so I waited. In just a minute, I was on the bus, out of the rain and on my way to the next museum.
National Gallery
I wrapped my day of at the National Gallery. This is right next door to the National Portrait Gallery where I was yesterday, so it was a fitting bookend to the beginning of yesterday.
I so enjoyed this museum! There were paintings ranging from the 16th century through the 20th century. I feel like I took a photo of every single thing in this museum that was not off limits to photograph, but here are just a few highlights of some very well-known works that were very memorable for me to see in person.
And some others:
