A Short Stay in London

One cannot visit London without having one's picture taken in front of the Houses of Parliament. — One cannot visit London without having one’s picture taken in front of the Houses of Parliament.

Vacation Day 7 – The National Gallery and St. Paul’s Cathedral

Our plan was to visit the National Gallery, Tate Modern and the Tower of London.

Ginger, Lanie and the London Eye (from Westminster Bridge)

Picture of the painting: The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838 - Turner — The Fighting Temeraire tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838

The queues to get on the London Eye were formidable, so we decided to not bother. Which was an excellent decision as we found a much better way to view London from on-high later in the day. Our first stop was the National Gallery. We spent several hours enjoying the paintings. Lanie got quite excited about seeing pictures she’d only seen before as prints. I was particularly impressed with one of the Turner’s. Most of the pictures I’ve seen of this painting show it as dull and insipid. The picture as it is shown here is much closer to the painting I saw at the National Gallery in 2014.

It was so vibrant and ‘glowing’ it startled me. I’d often wondered what the fuss was about this painting, now I knew. The prints I had seen just did not do it justice.

In Trafalgar Square, Outside the National Gallery

After the National Gallery we went to St. Paul’s, taking a ‘self-guided’ tour. We hadn’t realized you can get right up to the top (some 500+ steps) The views were excellent, and just as high as the Eye.

Even better, we arrived on the Feast Day of St. Barnabus the Apostle and there was a scheduled mid-week sung Holy Eucharist. We were able to take Communion at Saint Paul’s and hear the choir sing. Magic.