Final Day in London

Although our flight was the next morning, it was early in the morning so this was our last day to see anything of London. Dorothy and Allen thought we should try walking the opposite direction along the Thames so we could visit their city farm. Surrey Docks Farm is a working city farm and charity. The morning we went was sunny and warm and full of families and kids.

City farm

From here we were headed to the Underground and got off at this stop. Can you guess where we were headed?

Tube stop

We were not alone. The sunny day brought everyone outside sightseeing.

"Big Ben"

"Big Ben" is the nickname for the great bell of the great clock of Westminster. It also refers to the clock tower itself. Allen said that it had recently been cleaned and restored which is why it appears extra shiny in the sunshine.

There were lots of statues in the park between the clock tower and the abbey. But this is the only one that I recognized on sight.

Sir Winston Churchill

He was the Prime Minister of the U.K. during the Second World War.

And finally the Abbey, where all the important royal religious affairs occur. They were having a mass at the time we arrived so we were relegated to the tourist section.

Abbey Main Entrance

Abbey inside

Behind the gold gate in the center was where the parishioners were for the mass. We couldn't see them but the mass was televised on large screens, so we were still able to view. 

On the way back, the light had changed, so we were able to take some different pictures of Westminster.

From here we walked to a nearby pub for Sunday roast dinner. The last thing on my food list was Yorkshire pudding. On the way we came across the mounted guards. The horses are so big and strong. I thought they looked very majestic.

After watching the changing of the guard, we stepped into the pub just before the rush. All four of us ordered the same thing. Sunday Roast Beef Dinner.

Sunday Roast Dinner

If you've never had Yorkshire pudding before, it's the brownish blob at the top of the plate. Imagine putting pancake batter into a muffin tin with a bit of oil and then baking it. It puffs up into a blob perfect for soaking up gravy. Allen said he preferred his smaller and less crunchy, but I was happy with mine. I tend to like my food crispy anyway.

After dinner we were off to the National Gallery. This gallery began in 1824 working with living artists helping to preserve art history. The building itself is a work of art.

Here is where JMS Turner bequeathed the bulk of his collection and where he also fulfills his dream of exhibiting next to the artist who he was heavily influenced by, Claude Larrain.

Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

Claude Larrain, 1648

Dido Building Carthage

JMS Turner, 1815

At the request of Turner's will, two of his paintings are exhibit in the same gallery as two of Claude's. Even I can see the influence of one artist on the other.

There were many other beautiful things that I could post, but I chose to post this one because though I am not a sophisticated art lover, I recognized this painting as one of Seurat's. If you recall we saw his Sunday Afternoon painting at the Chicago Art Institute. I have a picture of it in the American Gothic blog post.

Bathers at Asniéres, Seurat, 1884

Although we we needed to head to our hotel by the airport, Dorothy felt we still had time to poke our heads into the Portrait Gallery. Here are some highlights..

Catherine, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales

This portrait was commissioned to mark her engagement. It was considered a radical choice for her to choose to wear trousers. I remember seeing her in person when I was in middle school. We were allowed to take the day off school in order to join the crowds of people hoping to get a glimpse of her. Although I shook Charles hand, I remember being a bit disappointed that I didn't get to shake Diana's. I suppose that was part of the problem in the end.

Conversation at the Royal Lodge

King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother and Princess Margaret

Ira made sure I didn't miss this one. It was very recognizable having seen the series the Crown.

This was a preliminary sketch for the portrait of Churchill that was commissioned to Graham Sutherland. Sadly the portrait was destroyed by Churchill's wife at Churchill's request. You may remember that scene from the Crown as well.

The last exhibit we saw at the Portrait Gallery were those of the current year's portrait competition. I took a picture of this one, which was my favorite. You can hardly tell it's a painting and not a photograph.

The Last Portrait

by Sasha Sokolova, 2020

It was a portrait of the artist's grandfather. He reminded me of the actor, Ed Asner. Who if you don't already know who he is, he was the voice of the old man in "Up".

After the Portrait Gallery, we headed back to Dorothy and Allen's flat to pick up our baggage. They were so nice, they came with us on the bus, the overground, and the underground to Liverpool Station and down to where we could catch the Stansted Express train. They were so nice, I guess they didn't want us to have a repeat of what happened on the way in LOL.

An hour or so later, we made it to the airport and walked to the Radisson Blu hotel. We had time for a leisurely dinner and an early lights out since we had an early flight in the morning.

Wine tower

The wine tower reminded me of the Aureole restaurant at the Mandalay Bay, minus the wine angels.

Wine Angel at Aureole restaurant, Las Vegas

And that brings us to the end of our last day in London. 

To update you all, blogs should be coming more regularly going forward because as of today, we have wifi!!! Woohoo! We have the "whiffee"!

Cheerio!