Sunday, September 28th
Woke up this morning for another full day. I got tickets to do this tour around London provided by ISH, so I ate breakfast, and then we left.
The tour included a guided walking tour around the Westminster area, a boat cruise down the Thames, tube pass for the day, lunch, and a ride on the London Eye, so for 22.50 ($45.00) I thought it was a pretty good deal. Once we got to the Tower Hill station, we sat around for a little bit because we were early for the tour guide, so I read a little in my London book and tried to take in some of the never ending events that this city has to offer.
Our tour continued as we went on a boat cruise down the Thames toward Westminster. The cruises are great because there is a guy who goes over the intercom as you ride, guiding you along what you are passing on the trip, and lots of fun facts about them. He is usually pretty witty as well, which always makes it more fun. This was the same boat line that we used on our trip to Greenwich.
Our walking tour took us across the grounds of Westminster and we got to see Big Ben of course, however were unable to go inside of the Parliament buildings themselves. The architecture on the outside however, was incredible. It is amazing seeing all of this up front in real life. Such detail and intricacy amazes me. There were several statues spread across the grounds, including one of Winston Churchill commemorating his achievements as Prime Minister during WWII. I also thought that it was interesting that in the chapel, the door jambs were compiled of statues of 20th century martyrs, including Martin Luther King Jr. Usually this sort of thing holds really old saints, martyrs, or other important figures, but something so recent, and of U.S. history, not even entirely British nature, was interesting to see.
The tour ended, and we made our way to lunch, and then off to the London Eye. I met a really nice girl from Germany named Karen who I talked with for most of the day. It turns out she actually did a foreign exchange program and studied in Sauk Prairie, WI. Small world.
We went to the London eye, and the view was incredible. I love seeing the overhead views of these cities. So far I have been able to do so everywhere we have gone. It was cool seeing the park below with the little specks of people, and all of the major buildings and grounds throughout the city. The Eye is right on the Thames too, so it was cool to see all of the boats going down the river, and the many, many bridges as well. It was such a beautiful so the view of the city was as clear as can be, and you could see on for miles.
When we got off of the London Eye, we walked down the street along the river through a little park filled with mimes and street musicians. The acts we saw were so diverse and entertaining. Some of the things we saw were hip hop dancers, a squeaky dinosaur on a bike, all sorts of mimes, kings and queens, statue posers, a mechanical man, the invisible man, a steel drum player smoking a doobie, guitar players, percussionists, and some sort of creature that would make squeaky noises while coaxing kids in a box… sounds sketchy, but it was hilarious.
We explored that scene for a bit, and then went to the Dali museum that we saw as we were getting off the Eye. It was the perfect segue going to this museum after all the mimes as the first quote on the wall I came across was “the least one can ask of a sculpture is that it does not move.” Not exactly what he was intending I’m sure, but it worked for me.
The first hallway was just a wall of lots of quotes he said and after walking through, we all decided that Dali was somewhat of a selfish, arrogant man from some of the quotes we saw on the wall. His comments are quite philosophical, even though he claims to be against philosophy.
He had quite a few quotations, however, that really made me think of myself and my artistry. Here are a few:
“The fact that I myself do not understand the meaning of my paintings at the time that I am painting them, does not mean that they have no meaning.”
“The artist is not one who is inspired, but who can inspire others.”
“Ideas are made to be copied. I have enough ideas to see them on. I prefer that they are stolen so that I don’t have to actually use them myself.”
“The envy of other artists has always been the barometer of my success.”
I also learned that Dali was a much more recent artist that I ever thought. He died in 1989, which is a year after I was born. I don’t know much about his work as we never covered it in my classes at school, but it fascinates me and I think I will be researching it much more.
He was very much inspired by Freud, and admired Goya and Newton. He actually has a collection of Goya recreations that was demonstrated in the museum. A lot of the plaques also mentioned quite a bit about a man name Gala. I’m not really sure who he is, but I will make a note to see because I am curious.
What I liked so much about this museum was that next to every sculpture or painting, it told you the basis behind the symbolism. In his melting clocks, there is a royal crown over the top, which is supposed to symbolize that time is master over humans, not simply a utility. This reminded me about the book we examined in English CAPP- Einstien’s dreams. Really and intriguing book that examines time and human existence. Check it out, it’ll make you think.
The melted clocks appear several times in a lot of his pieces. One was actually a saddle of a horse. In this piece, the symbolism of man’s fleeting voyage through life is portrayed. The melted watch as the saddle symbolizes the saddle carrying the weight of eternity.
I also liked the lobster phone.
Crutches also appear a lot in his work. This symbolizes death or resurrection, or in other cases, it symbolizes capitalist society: rich but weak.
One other sculpture that I found particularly interesting was a recreation of Venus de Milo intersected with drawers. Cameras weren’t allowed in the museum, otherwise I’d have some amazing pictures right now. Basically picture the statues, intersected with lots of drawers. This was supposed to display the classical Venus with Freudian symbolism. She proudly displays her drawers, which is a symbol of storage of the subconscious or the concealed sexuality of the woman. She hides nothing, and cares not of the opinions of others.
My appreciation and fascination for his work grew so much in the hour and a half I spent in that museum, and I have a feeling I will be doing a lot more studying of his work in the future.
Now that I have probably bored you all with my art history lesson, I will carry on with what I did for the rest of the day. After we left the museum, we went back to Westminster Abbey because the goal was to catch an organ recital that was at 5:45. We missed the boys choir at 3:00, but I am pretty sure I will be coming back to see another.
We made it with perfect timing to see the organ and bagpipe recital of Ian Keatley (Deputy Master of Music, Chapels Royal, Her Majesty’s Tower of London) and Jim Motherwell (Her Majesty The Queen’s Piper). No cameras allowed again, otherwise the footage would have been amazing.
The inside of the church was beautiful, and resembled much of the more solid concrete interior of Notre Dame. The vaulting was beautiful, and the stained glass and interior decoration was unbelievable, once again.
I have really done a lot of reflecting over the past year, trying to find out more about myself, and I find that whenever I go to church, I become so much more relaxed, and am able to reflect on myself and happenings in my life. Sitting there was exactly what I needed.
The music itself was so great. In addition to some others, the performance also included Bach, which makes sense because a lot of the pieces I have played by him were intended to carry the feel of an organ. The resonance of the organ throughout the open building was incredible. I finally had the opportunity to really hear that deep, full sound that the organ makes in all of its beauty. There are so many times in rehersals at school where Prof. Caldwell will make comparisons to the way we are playing to the full sound of an organ. I have heard organs played before, but never like this. It was truly inspiring, and now I really understand fully the effect he is going for.
In such a echo filled enclosure, the organ and bagpipe played wonderfully together. I never really heard a bagpipe up close in person before either, so that was a new experience as well. But it really stood out with how impressively they worked together. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to play together, especially with that combination of instruments, in a place where the sound traveled like it did in there. It was amazing.
After the performance, we said our goodbyes to Karen, and got on the tube to head back home.
On our tube ride back, we had a most interesting encounter in the madness that is rush hour. When we were waiting for our stop, suddenly about 10 or so people our age came down wearing all kinds of super hero costumes. We thought this was funny, and then got on the tube when it arrived. It was absolutely packed! In the compartment that we entered, a lady tried to get on last minute, threw in one bag, climbed on, and then grabbed her other bag… but not quick enough. The doors closed and her bag got stuck, no chance of budging, and far enough out that it would be completely clipped off if the tube started to move. Everyone standing around her tried their best to pull the doors open in order to save her bag, but still, no budge. After several frantic seconds of their feeble attempts, none other than Wolverine (from X-men…) came to the rescue. From our angle, we saw perfectly the claws coming through the doors, breaking them open instantly, almost effortlessly, saving the poor lady and her bag. We caught a quick glimpse of a nod and salute as our subway sped off.
Woke up this morning for another full day. I got tickets to do this tour around London provided by ISH, so I ate breakfast, and then we left.
The tour included a guided walking tour around the Westminster area, a boat cruise down the Thames, tube pass for the day, lunch, and a ride on the London Eye, so for 22.50 ($45.00) I thought it was a pretty good deal. Once we got to the Tower Hill station, we sat around for a little bit because we were early for the tour guide, so I read a little in my London book and tried to take in some of the never ending events that this city has to offer.
Our tour continued as we went on a boat cruise down the Thames toward Westminster. The cruises are great because there is a guy who goes over the intercom as you ride, guiding you along what you are passing on the trip, and lots of fun facts about them. He is usually pretty witty as well, which always makes it more fun. This was the same boat line that we used on our trip to Greenwich.
Our walking tour took us across the grounds of Westminster and we got to see Big Ben of course, however were unable to go inside of the Parliament buildings themselves. The architecture on the outside however, was incredible. It is amazing seeing all of this up front in real life. Such detail and intricacy amazes me. There were several statues spread across the grounds, including one of Winston Churchill commemorating his achievements as Prime Minister during WWII. I also thought that it was interesting that in the chapel, the door jambs were compiled of statues of 20th century martyrs, including Martin Luther King Jr. Usually this sort of thing holds really old saints, martyrs, or other important figures, but something so recent, and of U.S. history, not even entirely British nature, was interesting to see.
The tour ended, and we made our way to lunch, and then off to the London Eye. I met a really nice girl from Germany named Karen who I talked with for most of the day. It turns out she actually did a foreign exchange program and studied in Sauk Prairie, WI. Small world.
We went to the London eye, and the view was incredible. I love seeing the overhead views of these cities. So far I have been able to do so everywhere we have gone. It was cool seeing the park below with the little specks of people, and all of the major buildings and grounds throughout the city. The Eye is right on the Thames too, so it was cool to see all of the boats going down the river, and the many, many bridges as well. It was such a beautiful so the view of the city was as clear as can be, and you could see on for miles.
When we got off of the London Eye, we walked down the street along the river through a little park filled with mimes and street musicians. The acts we saw were so diverse and entertaining. Some of the things we saw were hip hop dancers, a squeaky dinosaur on a bike, all sorts of mimes, kings and queens, statue posers, a mechanical man, the invisible man, a steel drum player smoking a doobie, guitar players, percussionists, and some sort of creature that would make squeaky noises while coaxing kids in a box… sounds sketchy, but it was hilarious.
We explored that scene for a bit, and then went to the Dali museum that we saw as we were getting off the Eye. It was the perfect segue going to this museum after all the mimes as the first quote on the wall I came across was “the least one can ask of a sculpture is that it does not move.” Not exactly what he was intending I’m sure, but it worked for me.
The first hallway was just a wall of lots of quotes he said and after walking through, we all decided that Dali was somewhat of a selfish, arrogant man from some of the quotes we saw on the wall. His comments are quite philosophical, even though he claims to be against philosophy.
He had quite a few quotations, however, that really made me think of myself and my artistry. Here are a few:
“The fact that I myself do not understand the meaning of my paintings at the time that I am painting them, does not mean that they have no meaning.”
“The artist is not one who is inspired, but who can inspire others.”
“Ideas are made to be copied. I have enough ideas to see them on. I prefer that they are stolen so that I don’t have to actually use them myself.”
“The envy of other artists has always been the barometer of my success.”
I also learned that Dali was a much more recent artist that I ever thought. He died in 1989, which is a year after I was born. I don’t know much about his work as we never covered it in my classes at school, but it fascinates me and I think I will be researching it much more.
He was very much inspired by Freud, and admired Goya and Newton. He actually has a collection of Goya recreations that was demonstrated in the museum. A lot of the plaques also mentioned quite a bit about a man name Gala. I’m not really sure who he is, but I will make a note to see because I am curious.
What I liked so much about this museum was that next to every sculpture or painting, it told you the basis behind the symbolism. In his melting clocks, there is a royal crown over the top, which is supposed to symbolize that time is master over humans, not simply a utility. This reminded me about the book we examined in English CAPP- Einstien’s dreams. Really and intriguing book that examines time and human existence. Check it out, it’ll make you think.
The melted clocks appear several times in a lot of his pieces. One was actually a saddle of a horse. In this piece, the symbolism of man’s fleeting voyage through life is portrayed. The melted watch as the saddle symbolizes the saddle carrying the weight of eternity.
I also liked the lobster phone.
Crutches also appear a lot in his work. This symbolizes death or resurrection, or in other cases, it symbolizes capitalist society: rich but weak.
One other sculpture that I found particularly interesting was a recreation of Venus de Milo intersected with drawers. Cameras weren’t allowed in the museum, otherwise I’d have some amazing pictures right now. Basically picture the statues, intersected with lots of drawers. This was supposed to display the classical Venus with Freudian symbolism. She proudly displays her drawers, which is a symbol of storage of the subconscious or the concealed sexuality of the woman. She hides nothing, and cares not of the opinions of others.
My appreciation and fascination for his work grew so much in the hour and a half I spent in that museum, and I have a feeling I will be doing a lot more studying of his work in the future.
Now that I have probably bored you all with my art history lesson, I will carry on with what I did for the rest of the day. After we left the museum, we went back to Westminster Abbey because the goal was to catch an organ recital that was at 5:45. We missed the boys choir at 3:00, but I am pretty sure I will be coming back to see another.
We made it with perfect timing to see the organ and bagpipe recital of Ian Keatley (Deputy Master of Music, Chapels Royal, Her Majesty’s Tower of London) and Jim Motherwell (Her Majesty The Queen’s Piper). No cameras allowed again, otherwise the footage would have been amazing.
The inside of the church was beautiful, and resembled much of the more solid concrete interior of Notre Dame. The vaulting was beautiful, and the stained glass and interior decoration was unbelievable, once again.
I have really done a lot of reflecting over the past year, trying to find out more about myself, and I find that whenever I go to church, I become so much more relaxed, and am able to reflect on myself and happenings in my life. Sitting there was exactly what I needed.
The music itself was so great. In addition to some others, the performance also included Bach, which makes sense because a lot of the pieces I have played by him were intended to carry the feel of an organ. The resonance of the organ throughout the open building was incredible. I finally had the opportunity to really hear that deep, full sound that the organ makes in all of its beauty. There are so many times in rehersals at school where Prof. Caldwell will make comparisons to the way we are playing to the full sound of an organ. I have heard organs played before, but never like this. It was truly inspiring, and now I really understand fully the effect he is going for.
In such a echo filled enclosure, the organ and bagpipe played wonderfully together. I never really heard a bagpipe up close in person before either, so that was a new experience as well. But it really stood out with how impressively they worked together. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to play together, especially with that combination of instruments, in a place where the sound traveled like it did in there. It was amazing.
After the performance, we said our goodbyes to Karen, and got on the tube to head back home.
On our tube ride back, we had a most interesting encounter in the madness that is rush hour. When we were waiting for our stop, suddenly about 10 or so people our age came down wearing all kinds of super hero costumes. We thought this was funny, and then got on the tube when it arrived. It was absolutely packed! In the compartment that we entered, a lady tried to get on last minute, threw in one bag, climbed on, and then grabbed her other bag… but not quick enough. The doors closed and her bag got stuck, no chance of budging, and far enough out that it would be completely clipped off if the tube started to move. Everyone standing around her tried their best to pull the doors open in order to save her bag, but still, no budge. After several frantic seconds of their feeble attempts, none other than Wolverine (from X-men…) came to the rescue. From our angle, we saw perfectly the claws coming through the doors, breaking them open instantly, almost effortlessly, saving the poor lady and her bag. We caught a quick glimpse of a nod and salute as our subway sped off.
Sometimes it is nice to have a band of super heroes in the London Underground.
When I got back, I ate dinner with Katie and Aurelia, called home for a little bit, went back to journal some more, and went to bed. I am starting to feel a little sick, but I think it is simply because I have woken up early every day, and stayed out really late every night, and haven’t slept in once. There is so much to see and so much to do that I feel guilty sleeping at all. I will have to start forcing myself to a little bit so I don’t get sick and can’t see anything… That would be bad…
I am taking a minute to talk about the extensive amount of journaling I have done since I have arrived here in London. The girls in the room are making fun of me because it seems like whenever I am here, all I do is type. They think I am writing a novel or something, which may not be entirely false. I want to capture every moment of this trip, and have all of the details of which I have explored, and to be honest, journaling is my one real escape from the craziness around me. It is so relaxing for me to just put in my headphones and dissolve into some “Iron and Wine” for a few hours. I cant describe the feeling, but same as when I listened to music like this driving across Europe and enjoying the scenery, I just get lost in the music and it is the most relaxing, therapeutic feeling in the world.
And with the note of you all thinking I am probably a peace-lovin-hippie, I bid you a’due.
When I got back, I ate dinner with Katie and Aurelia, called home for a little bit, went back to journal some more, and went to bed. I am starting to feel a little sick, but I think it is simply because I have woken up early every day, and stayed out really late every night, and haven’t slept in once. There is so much to see and so much to do that I feel guilty sleeping at all. I will have to start forcing myself to a little bit so I don’t get sick and can’t see anything… That would be bad…
I am taking a minute to talk about the extensive amount of journaling I have done since I have arrived here in London. The girls in the room are making fun of me because it seems like whenever I am here, all I do is type. They think I am writing a novel or something, which may not be entirely false. I want to capture every moment of this trip, and have all of the details of which I have explored, and to be honest, journaling is my one real escape from the craziness around me. It is so relaxing for me to just put in my headphones and dissolve into some “Iron and Wine” for a few hours. I cant describe the feeling, but same as when I listened to music like this driving across Europe and enjoying the scenery, I just get lost in the music and it is the most relaxing, therapeutic feeling in the world.
And with the note of you all thinking I am probably a peace-lovin-hippie, I bid you a’due.
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