Architecture, Art, and Theatre

Yesterday began at Westminster Abbey, continued at the National Gallery, and ended with our final West End performance--Miss Saigon.

I have to admit that I did not know much about Westminster Abbey before we visited, other than the fact that it was big, it was old, and you should see it when you go to London.

Cloister Garth

The Little Cloister

There was a medium-length wait to get into the Abbey; once inside, velvet ropes and numbered signs kept your personal tour of the Abbey organized and efficient. It is quite beautiful inside (no photos allowed). There was a service going on while we were there; it struck me as a bit odd that there was a solemn religious service happening in this important house of worship, while simultaneously tourists were scampering around with audio tours held to their ears.

A lot of the sights to see in Westminster Abbey are the tombs of royalty. Many others have been buried there, and in addition there are memorials for important people who are not buried there. There is also a Poets' Corner at the Abbey, where esteemed British poets have either been entombed or commemorated. Chaucer, Tennyson, Dickens, and Robert Browning are just some of the folks that live there now. I did not see a lot of ladies buried or commemorated in Poets' Corner; I'm sure there are a few more, but the only ones I found were Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.


Some Fun Facts we learned during our tour:

• The ceiling of Westminster Abbey is 90 feet tall.
• Edward I was 6'2", earning him the nickname "Edward Longshanks."
• Elizabeth I had Mary, Queen of Scots executed and had her buried at Peterborough Cathedral. However, when Mary's son James came to power, he had her body exhumed and reinterred at Westminster Abbey, and he made sure her tomb was just as snazzy as Elizabeth's. Take that, Elizabeth I!

We got to see Britain's oldest door; I was not aware that people were keeping track of that. It was likely constructed in the 1050s for St. Edward the Confessor. We also got to see some 13th century tiles in the Chapter House; however, because the tiles have to be kept safe from the wear and tear of our modern feet, most of the floor is covered in gross gray carpet and you can just peek at the tiles at a carpet hole in the center of the room.

After Westminster Abbey, we walked to the National Gallery via St. James's Park:

Pelicans!

Duck Island Cottage; built in 1841 as the home of the bird-keeper of St. James's Park.

The National Gallery was not as crowded on a week day, and we avoided the rooms with the most popular Very Famous Artists, so this visit was more pleasant than our last. Favorite art below!

Drunken Silenus supported by Satyrs, possibly by Anthony van Dyck, about 1620.
I really like the guy who's playing two flutes.

Judith in the Tent of Holofernes, Johann Liss, about 1622.
"Judith became a heroine when she killed Holofernes, enemy of the Israelites, with his own sword."
I don't normally go for beheadings in my art, but look at her face! She's like, "Hell yeah, I did this."

Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun, after 1782
Yay lady artists!

A Girl at a Window, Louis-Leopold Boilly, after 1799
"The girl looking at us looking at her, the telescope, and fish bowl all play on ideas of vision and illusion. The picture as a whole is made to look like a mounted print." It's much more impressive in person.

A Lion Hunt, Peter Paul Rubens, about 1614-15
"...In this rapidly painted sketch, Rubens is experimenting with ideas; the central group is repeated in a slightly different pose in the upper right."

The Holy Family with Saint John, Andrea Mantegna, about 1500
Something about the way infant John the Baptist is pointing to Christ is just delightful to me.

The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her Last Berth to be broken up, 1838, Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1839
One of my dad's favorites!

After we got our art on, we saw Miss Saigon (created by the same folks who did Les Mis). Before this performance, I only knew the general story and mostly associated it with the controversy surrounding the original casting of white folks as Asians (complete with bronzer and eye prosthetics--you can't make this shit up). Thankfully, all of the Asian characters in this production were played by Asian actors. We had a good time at this performance. Kim (Eva Noblezada), John (Hugh Maynard) and The Engineer (Jon Jon Briones) were especially outstanding. The music stayed with me after the performance ended, which is always a good sign for a musical. I personally enjoyed the first act more than the second act--I did not think there was enough tension leading up to Act II's climax.

The trip is rapidly wrapping up! I would have thought that after a month-long vacation, I'd be itching to come home, but I'm still thinking, "If only we had one more week..." Just goes to show your vacation can never be too long.

xo
Hannah