4 Days in London: Day 2 = Tues. Dec 3, 2024

Tuesday, Dec 3, 2024 - Today's "plans" call for only 2 museums:

But let's start with pictures of my room:

Don't forget The View:

Breakfast is from 7-to-9 - croissant, yogurt, fruit cup and coffee.

Out the door at 8:45. My favourite streets in London are those that curve-around in the direction I want to go (otherwise there is a lot of left-right gridwork):

My first stop was my favorite Post Office today - W1W 7NE - London, UK (Great Portland branch):

I then pass a store that is a combination coffee-shop-and-Victoria's-Secret. I have died and gone to heaven:

I get to Tottenham Court Road, and The Dominion Theatre showing "The Devil Wears Prada" (music by Elton John):

I am down at Somerset House (the home of The Courtauld Gallery) at 9:57 for my 10:00 ticket entrance:

I stood in line ("in the queue"), joining a man who looked EXACTLY like the detective in "Foyle's War", which Wendy and I love:

I did buck-up my courage, and asked him - "Excuse me, but I'm from America, and my wife and I are big fans of Foyle's War", and you look exactly like the detective on the show." He smiled and muttered something like "no no no", and then we had a nice conversation about seeing art without our wives. We separated once we were inside. I still like to think it was him.

Nice area:

Starting at the Top Floor, you are exposed to the beauty of their Permanent Collection:

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) - "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere", 1882 oil:

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) - "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear", 1889 oil:

I will see 21 Monets in The Exhibition, but here are 2 from The Courtauld Gallery Permanent Collection - "Antibes", 1888 oil:

"Autumn Effect at Argenteuil", 1873 oil:

And then it was time for The Exhibition: "Monet and London: Views of the Thames". There are 21 pictures - 5 of Charing Cross Bridge, 9 of Waterloo Bridge, and 7 of The Houses of Parliament:

Favourites include:

"Charing Cross Bridge. The Thames", 1903 oil (from Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France):

"Waterloo Bridge. Veiled Sun", 1903 oil (from Ordrupgaard, Copenhagen, Denmark):

"Waterloo Bridge, Overcast", 1903 oil (from Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon, France):

"London. The Houses of Parliment. Shaft of Sunlight in the Fog", 1904 oil (from Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France):

"The Houses of Parliament. Sunset", 1904 oil (from Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, Kunstmuseum Krefeld, Germany):

In the rest of the building - Edgar Degas - "Two Dancers on a Stage", 1874 oil:

The Central Staircase:

Peter Paul Rubens - "Studies for an Altarpiece in Antwerp Cathedral", 1611-13 oil:

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) - "Bacchus", Around 1751-53 red and white chalk:

Outside in the Courtyard of Somerset House:

As I walk down The Strand, of course there is MORE THEATRE:

The National Gallery (on Trafalgar Square, with its statue of "Nelson's Column") is 1/2 mile southwest of The Courtauld Gallery:

Although there was no entry fee or timed-ticket, I did have to stand in line. I did a sudoku. You can tell the sun is trying to break through on this early-December day:

I printed a map of "Level 2" (their "Main Floor"), circling the 8 rooms I wanted to visit:

My first stop was Room 36, with its 2 paintings by J.M.W. Turner and 2 paintings by Claude Lorrain:

The 2 by J.M.W. Turner are "Dido building Carthage", 1815 oil:

and "Sun Rising through Vapour", before 1807 oil:

I took photos of 62 paintings. My top 8 are:

Claude Monet - "Water-Lilies", after 1916 oil:

J.M.W. Turner - "The Fighting Temeraire", 1839 oil:

J.M.W. Turner - "Ulysses deriding Polyphemus - Homer's Odyssey", 1829 oil:

Francesco Guardi - "Venice: Pizza San Marco", about 1760 oil:

Canaletto - "Venice: Campo S. Vidal and Santa Maria della Carità ('The Stonemason's Yard')", about 1728 oil:

Rembrandt - "Ecce Homo", 1634 oil:

Jan van Eyck - "The Arnolfini Portrait", 1434 oil:

Titian - "The Holy Family with a Shepherd", about 1510 oil:

Interestingly, the only exit is THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP:

I walked a little over a mile, in a little over one hour:

Back outside I had a Bratwurst with mustard - it was Perfect:

So, it is before 1 in the afternoon - WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? Hey, I can do The London Eye!:

There were only 6 of us in our capsule, and I got a great shot of Westminster Bridge, Big Ben, and The Houses of Parliment:

To get to the Tate Modern, I had a nice walk along The Thames:

The Tate Modern is a little brutalist:

This Museum has on-display 3 paintings by Georges Braque, 1 by Amedeo Modigliani, and 1 by Jackson Pollock (one painting I want to see by Picasso is currently in Worcester, MA as part of an Exhibition!):

Georges Braque - "Clarinet and Bottle of Rum on a Mantlepiece", 1911 oil:

Amedeo Modigliani - "The Little Peasant", c. 1918 oil:

It was still light as I walked across Blackfriars Bridge to see an interesting restaurant right across from St. Paul's Cathedral:

St. Paul's Cathedral is a very cool place. I bought a ticket, saw the Interior, and then made my way up to The Top (Golden Gallery):

I've seen a lot of things in cities, but I have never seen a fox:

London lights up at night!

That sure was fun stretching my legs around London:

Near as I can figure out, I walked 12.4 miles today (I guess I got both My Steps AND My Stairs Goals). Thank you God for these wonderful "Adventures-in-London" days!

Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/

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