Day 12: Last Day!! ...Last Day????

Today is our last day in London!! and it was also a free day, meaning we can do whatever we want! How exciting! But it is also our last day and we leave at 3am tomorrow! How terrifying!!

Today being my only free day, I had big dreams of waking up early and knocking out my list of things to see. This was just too good to be true and I couldn’t help myself sleeping in until about 9am. It was wonderful, until I looked outside. For the past two weeks, the weather has been chilly and spitty- not rainy, spitty. But today, it was a full on rain that lasted. Some friends and I hopped the tube for some breakfast in East London, then back to the tube to meet up with another group of friends (I know, I have so many!) in Camden Town to get some last minute cheap gifts. Camden town was fun and exciting when I was here last week. But when it is raining, the bargains get harder and the shops get crowded. I got a few souvenirs, and rushed back through the tube again to see the National Gallery.

I really to try to get some pictures of my adventures to show you guys but London is just not a photographer’s city. I was standing outside the building, looking into the front lobby area and wished to take a photo of the front (not even where any of the portraits are). I was nearly tackled by one of the employees, waving his hands back and forth wildly to stop the photo. I was quite annoyed because before I brought out my camera I did a full 360 looking for ‘no photography’ signs and saw none. After I put my camera away this guy continued to wave his hand back and forth in front of my face and stare at me angrily, and it reminded me of the WWE wrestler John Cena’s trademark ‘you can’t see me’. It was seriously getting kind of weird after he continued to wave his hands after my camera was put away and I apologized, but when I looked LITERALLY two feet to my left and saw a Chinese family snapping photos away like nothing, I got really annoyed. So, if anyone is wondering, you really need to ask before taking pictures in London or you are going to have an awkward scene on your hands.

Back to the National Gallery. This was my final requirement for my blog- to describe an art museum. In my opinion the National Gallery was the best choice for the art museum. I had friends that went to the Tate Modern for Modern Art, and basically said that Modern art is weird and sometimes stupid. And sometimes gross. Anyway!!

The paintings there were just as I have described the entire city. Breathtaking and amazing. I still cannot understand how someone could paint such detail into canvas or wood, with shadows and depth and everything. I really enjoyed that each painting had the title, artist, approximate year, and also the medium and material used. I thought it was very interesting that some paintings were oil paints on oak plants and others were pastels on canvas. It was very cool to see the differences between each medium and material and see how some fade while others brighten.

I am not a huge art person, but going to national galleries such as these are highly recommended. If nothing else you at least gain respect for artists of years ago (that Tate Modern seemed to have a lot of the ‘this looks like a four-year-old did it’ kind of art. This was definitely not the case). The large majority of the paintings were themed around Christianity, showing angels, Mary, and Jesus. To me it showed how important faith truly was to the artists, because from the craftsmanship shown in these paintings, I could tell it would take months and years to finish some. Painting something day in and day out for months is what I consider strong faith. It was truly amazing to see so many ancient works of art that even today may not have an equal. I believe many people have forgotten the art of painting because we use so much technology today that can capture an image so easily. I am glad I went to the National Gallery and could be reminded of the beauty of these works of art.

I was able to finish off my souvenir list in the gift shop and I was headed back to the tube to meet the group for dinner. We met at Pizza Hut to discuss some last minute packing and ‘how to get through customs without being arrested’ tips. Just a fun fact, England Pizza Hut pizza’s have choices such as ham and sweet corn, or prawns (shrimp).

While this day was very full, I still had one last thing I had to do before leaving. Who am I kidding, I had like 10 things I wanted to do before I left but I only had a few hours left in the day and I chose to use them to go to the London Eye. 

For those unfamiliar with it, it is what appears to be a Farris wheel near the river. It is not a Farris wheel however because Farris wheels scare me. It is basically a giant glass bubble that people step into and ride it around to get a bird’s eye view of London.

'

It was very cool to see and absolutely worth it, plus I got gelato afterwards so you know it was a good time.

Do you see why I love London so much?? 

My final activity of the night was packing. My bag tipped the scales coming over here at exactly 50.5lbs (the max is 50 but the let it slide). I was amazed and confused when I weighed my bags and got 46lbs. but didn’t want to hurt my brain too much trying to find the answer. I used a carry on bag to hold all my souvenirs and by midnight I was set. I went to bed, only to get up at 2am to get everything ready and shower. The joys of travel. It was exhilarating even without sleep, waiting in the lobby to go home. I have had a life changing time in London, but in all honestly I am ready to go home and get back to routine. The same week I get back I am also in a shooting competition, and two weeks after that I leave for another three weeks for Airborne school, neither of these I am totally prepared for yet. I absolutely plan to return someday, but I truly enjoyed every minute abroad. Ok well off to the airport. I will update when I am stateside!