London Day 4.... May 29th

Day 4... FREE DAY!!!


So today was a free day to do whatever our heart desires... for me, that was to sleep in :) Everyone went to church this morning around 930, while i slept... yes I slightly felt like I wasted part of my day but it was much needed sleep...  



Albert Hall?



In the park relaxing and

watching a futbol game.





This cottage is right in the
 entrance of Hyde Park.

What an amazing facade!



I got up and walked around at 10 for about two hours... touring Kingston, London is beautiful... I walked through Hyde Park, watch some people play futbol, bike around, feed squirrels (that actually ate right out of peoples hands) took pictures of the amazing flats/houses/hotels/restaurants on the way to the park as well as a cute cottage type house in the park... I had an amazingly relaxing morning/early afternoon on my own :)

The alternating colors and textures
of the brick and plaster of this
building really bring attention to it!

Rustic Facade, large brick archway
and eccentrically detailed columns

Varying sizes of cylinders
alternated on the columns


This afternoon a few of us went on a short journey over by the Eye of London (giant Ferris Wheel) and we took some amazing pics there too (sadly I didn't put my memory card back into my phone, so none of my amazing pictures this afternoon came out).  

~Enjoying Relaxing~

Elyse



London Day 3.... May 28th

Day 3...

Fortunately I only had to get up at 8 this morning, but today we went to the V&A (Victoria & Albert) Museum and the Tate Modern Museum...

 

This was a model only half built
sitting next to a mirror.
It looks totally complete
 from this angle!!!



Right before we went into the V&A our professors talked to us about pattern, so naturally I looked at a lot more pattern then usual... I mostly went through the British Gallery and looked at everything from the original clothes of Shakespeare to the jewelry boxes of royalty. The colors used in this time were very rich and there were a lot of floral patterns... The building itself was amazing... marble, mosaic or wood flooring, some with geometric patterns and the molding was very extravagant... and of course within the first three stairs I went up I fell, bruised my shin and have a slightly swollen ankle and a limp.

Barrel Vault we walked under

Our journey over to the Tate Modern was awesome... we saw many buildings and bridges (all worth mentioning but I can't remember hardly or know any of their names.. sad right) went over the London Bridge to a small food market type thing with tons of people... we walked by many pubs and their local drunks, restaurants, museums, and these amazingly beautiful houses...



Interior Design Office inspiration

The Tate Modern Museum was nothing like I expected... but I did figure out where the Interior Design Department at USU got their inspiration for the walls outside their office!!! I actually made it through the entire museum with a larger group of students, and my impression of the entire thing was OK, but now I feel I really need to see some amazing Museum to make up for it... Maybe I just didn't understand the art, but there are a lot of pieces that represent patterns well.

St. Paul's Cathedral

After the museums we started traveling back towards the same direction we went to get to Tate so we could try and find food... We sat down at like three different restaurants before we actually decided on one and the food was really good (so I heard, I just had mashed potatoes) then we took our version of a tour of London and got lost!!! we went to St. Paul's Cathedral and took pictures, then took the train the wrong direction to the Gherkin and walked about 7 miles in order to find it and somehow managed to do it all before sunset :) we then went to Covent Garden and watched a man on like a 10 foot high unicycle juggle knives in his briefs then switch and add a chain saw, I was shocked nothing was cut off!!! Then stopped at this amazing gelato place that has some of the strange flavors (they make one out of breast milk and another that is kind of like Viagra.... strange!!!), but I got the Dark Chocolate, white chocolate, and Vanilla, AMAZING :) we ate that while we listened to a guy play the guitar and sing Elton John songs, James Taylor songs and a few others... We ended up getting back shortly after 11 but it was a new experience...



~London Lost~

Elyse