A Foggy Day in LONDON Town

An Underground Station
Me on the Millenium Bridge (Tower Bridge is behind me)
Highgate Cemetery
Part of the Courtald Institute of Art (and filming location of The Duchess)

Trafalger Square

London, England.

I went there once, during the summer of 2004 when I was sixteen. My mom and I traveled around London and England, staying at my friend Wally's house. It was a wonderful experience. Now, four years later, I am 21 and much has happened since my first Grand Tour. This time in London I ventured out on my own a lot to see sights that I missed on my first trip.

First on the list was The National Gallery. Three paintings we're studying in my 'Hidden Meanings in Renaissance Art' class are there, so I had to see them up close. The Gallery is free and has an extraordinary amount of art from all periods. After studying Italian law for artworks and state museums I am torn because I think that Italian art should be in Italy, its source nation. Not in England or France, market nations.

Second on the list was the Courtald Institute of Art, a graduate school I am very interested in. Unfortunately, when we stopped by the school, which is near the National Gallery, it was after hours. I talked briefly with the woman at the front desk, but nothing too interesting. I found out that only 75 applicants apply every year, only 12 get in. It is a small, prestigious school that focuses on creating good curators in the art world. London is so big. I'm still not sure if it's the ideal place to be for me.

Especially after losing my three roommates for a few hours. We went two separate ways-I went to Highgate Cemetery and they went on the London Eye. The Underground, I found out, is not always a reliable source of transportation. We missed our meeting time, so I wandered Trafalger Square calling my mom in the States for help. Conveniently, my phone would not call my friend's phone while in the UK and it was about to die. So I had to call my mom and give her their numbers to call them in order for them to meet me at a new location at a new time. Complicated, I know. And very stressful.

But, in the midst of that confusion and a bit of panic too, an angel sat down and talked to me. The first words out of his mouth were, "I'm looking for a bus with the words There may not be a God. written on it." He was an older gentleman who had no idea who I was or what I believed in, but he proceeded to tell me the story of how he saw a bus the other day while sitting in the square with those words written on its side. He was on the lookout for any other buses because he was planning on writing a letter to the Queen about it. It made him upset that such a declaration (not even a question, mind you) would be put up as advertisement. He told me that it goes against everything England stands for and will offend many people, even those that are nonbelievers. He offered one of his gummy bears to me. I accepted. Then we chatted about the weather in Florida and England (at first he thought I was from Spain-I took it as a compliment). He may not have been an angel in the literal sense of the word, but to me in that instance, when I was on the verge of histeria, he saved me. He sat down next to me in the exact moment I was about to burst out crying in the middle of a city with no friends around. God sent me a friend and I will always think of him when I think of London.

Among other London experiences I went to a Victorian Cemetery, Highgate, which is the setting of a novel I once read: Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels. I went on an hour tour of the cemetery that was created during the Victorian period when people were dying left and right and no room was left in the city for their bodies. It was overgrown and eerie. The Victorians really liked being near to their dead. On my way back from the cemetery I got lost (yes, that happens alot) but a girl from Slovakia walked with me to the Underground Station. On our walk she asked me about the elections (as everyone does these days). It's always interesting to me to hear what the rest of the world thinks, especially people my age. They are very opinionated for not being a citizen and overwhelmingly all are for Obama. This one girl actually refered to McCain as a sinister character from a horror film. I'm not sure where the comparison came from? haha

London was a nice change from the passionate world of Italy. No language barriers. Starbucks at every corner. Movies in English without subtitles (I saw The Duchess in England; I thought it only appropriate). Hardy food. And the list goes on.

Next stop, Dublin, Ireland.