How can I be leaving this beautiful city in one week? My time here in London is just beginning and I WILL be back to see more! This week will be a short one. The British Studies Program is allowing all students to go on a "mini" break, which is Thursday-Sunday! My friends and I are spending four days in Dublin, Ireland! So, be on the look out for a full, detailed blog post on my time in Ireland!
MONDAY
This morning I woke up full of energy and excitement to learn! The weather was perfect for a day out in the city of London! Our first stop this morning was the Victoria and Albert Museum! You've seen me write about the V & A before so I won't bore you with that, but this time I saw new treasures and new pieces displayed at the V & A! The first treasure that caught my eye was the Gondola Chair. Gondola chairs are a type of low chair, often used at a desk. It is named after the 18th-century Venetian gondola row boats which have a similar curvilinear shape. Beside the chair was a large chest that had Boullework Marquetry detail painted on all sides. Boullework is a type of rich marquetry process or inlay perfected by the French cabinetmaker Andre Charles Boulle. It involves veneering furniture with a marquetry of tortoiseshell, pewter which is inlaid with arabesques of gilded brass. Next is the Savonarola Chair. Savonarola chairs are a type of folding chairs with a frame like an X shaped, viewed from the front or the side. It was known to have been used in Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. Further on into the museum, I saw a Gothic Marriage Chest. The chest is a rich and showy Italian type of chest, which may be inlaid or carved, prepared with gesso ground then painted and gilded. It was given to a bride as a gift from her parents during the wedding. The chest was given to hold stories from the couples adventures. The Charles Crescent Commode was one of my most memorable pieces. Not because of the way it looked but because of the name. As you can see from the picture below, it clearly does not look like a "commode". This piece of furniture is an elaborate chest of drawers. People normally display these pieces in a drawing room.
Lunch time came around and my class and I decided to take a walk around the area to look for a local cafe. We came across a restaurant called Flavours of Lebanon. I've never had Lebanese food before so this was a first for me. I really enjoyed the food and for to me to try something different and like it, was a big deal for me. After lunch we were headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. After we stopped for gelato, of course. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognizable sights in London. This historical building dates back to the 17th century and was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. The Cathedral Building was destroyed by the Great Fire of London so it is now called the Old St Paul's Cathedral. It was the central focus for medieval and early modern London. The Old St Paul's Cathedral was built in 1256 and the St Paul's Cathedral was built in 1675. The beautiful staircase you see below is the Divination Stairwell. This was the private entrance for the Cathedrals priest. Fun fact about the staircase is part of the Harry Potter movie was filmed on the staircase. One of my favorite memories from this tour was climbing 528 to the top of the dome to see the most amazing view of London. My legs hurt after but it was worth it!
TUESDAY
It's Travel Tuesday and today we spent the day in Barlaston, Stoke-on-trent to tour the Wedgwood Factory! The Wedgwood Factory is a fine china, porcelain, and luxury accessories company founded by Josiah Wedgwood on May 1st 1759. The story on how the factory came to be is Josiah married Sarah Wedgwood in 1763. Sarah came from a lot of money and she used her dowry to help Josiah build his factory. In 1765, Josiah created a new form of cream wear, a fine glazed earthenware, which impressed the British Queen. The queen gave permission to call it "Queens Ware". The potter sold all across Europe thus making Josiah the most wealthiest Potter in London. The factory now sits on a beautiful estate called Staffordshire, along with his house. At the end of the tour, my class and I were able to throw pottery! We each made our own vase, or bowl. I'm not expert in making pottery but I think I did pretty good for a first timer!
WEDNESDAY
This morning we toured the famous Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey is a large Gothic church in the city of Westminster, London. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for all English monarchs. This church was founded in 960 (1059 years ago). The burial sites hold over 3,000 people including 16 monarchs, 8 Prime Ministers, poet laureates, actors, scientist, and military leaders, and the Unknown Warrior. There have been 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100. Unfortunately we were not able to take pictures in the abbey but we were able to take some of the exterior, which is just as extravagant.
Later on in the afternoon we had a private tour of 55 Broadway, London's first skyscrapers that is in the Art Deco style. It was designed for the Transportation office and still houses them in an untouched state. Following the tour, the lead architect over all of London's underground, Edmund Bird, gave us a behind the scenes look at the underground of the Down Street Tunnel station. This tunnel station was closed and abandoned after WWII. It was very nasty, dark and wet so we had to use "torches" (British word for flashlights) to be able to see. Trains still travel to the station but don't stop. My favorite part of the tour was getting to see the trains pass but they didn't know we were there. It was almost like we were in a horror movie and if you know me you know I love the thrill!!
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