"Seeing the World Through Both My Eyes"

Well, today we primarily visited places where you can’t take pictures. So, of course, I don’t have that many pictures to post. However, while that might be bad news for blog viewers, I tend to think it’s kind of nice for us students. When I set out on this London adventure, I was hoping to live by John Mayer’s lyrics “Didn't have a camera by my side this time/ Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes” (“3x5”). Of course, I have been taking pictures almost every day, even when we didn’t have a specific photography assignment. But today started with Westminster Abbey and ended at the National Portrait Gallery. The above panorama is actually of the Ministry of Defense, which we passed on the way to Westminster and on the way back to Trafalgar Square. I have been to Westminster Abbey before, but I have no pictures of the inside of the building to commemorate the experience, so a return trip is always welcome. I especially love Poets’ Corner, where you can see huge sculptures of Shakespeare and Handel. Although, the entire cathedral is breathtaking, with its high arched ceilings and dimensional columns. The columns make me think of very long honeycombs, standing upright.

Our tour guide took us to the back of the courtyard where I was able to get this spectacular photo of the cathedral through the trees. I kept trying to get a good picture of Big Ben, which is attached to the Palace of Westminster (House of Parliament building) behind Westminster Abbey, but the sun was in a bad position. I think Big Ben has got to be the most difficult icon to get a good picture of. I did get one last time and I have yet to get one this time. Go figure, the one icon that means something to me as a Whovian and a Sherlockian, and I can never get a good picture.

From Westminster Abbey we went to St. James Park to eat a packed lunch and then walked from there to Trafalgar Square. I got all excited at seeing black swans in the park. We also saw this procession of flags leading to Buckingham Palace, which we assume is on display in honor of Kate going into labor.

Trafalgar Square is where the National Art Gallery is located, but since I had been there before, I opted for accompanying my flatmate Annette when she ventured over to the nearby National Portrait Gallery. And I’m glad I did. It’s a wonderful gallery with all sorts of portraits from Victorian life-like images, to Contemporary bizarreness, and even includes busts and sculptures. We saw a whole wall of busts of famous notable people: Newton, Tennyson, Darwin, and other scientists and artists. There’s portraits of Kate Middleton and Paul McCartney. My favorite by far though, was a picture of Maggie Smith, which you can actually see on the website. We couldn’t take pictures inside the gallery, but that made the experience all the more wonderful. For once, I was able to live in the moment…without a camera. Although, I rushed back to Trafalgar Square afterward, to take picture of the big kitties (lions) in the square.