Monday morning we headed out and stopped by Marks & Spencer’s to get some quick breakfast, before we headed off to the National Gallery. M&S only sells fresh to-go sandwiches, baked goods, juices, fruit, etc. Then we headed off to the National Gallery. The National Gallery is free like the National Portrait Gallery and the National History Museum. Now, the collection is not very big, but it contains some of the most popular and incredible works by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Reubens, Caravaggio, Raphael, Van Gough, Monet, Manet, Turner, and Van Dyke. There’s nothing as breathtaking as standing in front of paintings you have admired your entire life, and then see them in real life, less than a foot away from you. I had to sit…a lot, and take in the fact that I was standing before an unfinished da Vinci painting. There were artists sitting in the corner sketching the paintings, trying to learn what they could from the famous artists. There were kids sitting in a circle around tour guides explaining the importance of the Madonna on the Rocks.
We were trying to go to Chinatown, but we were so hungry we settled for a Chinese Buffet, which wasn’t good. It didn’t really taste like Chinese food, but we ate it anyways. Then we finally made it to the Apple Market for tea. The Apple Market is inside Covent Gardens (where the opening scene of My Fair Lady was filmed. Covent Gardens is always bustling with street performers (or live drama), working for some extra pounds, the rich lunching, and the tourists shopping and haggling with the market owners.
We also visited the many shops in Convent gardens, such as Pollock’s Toys, Lush, and David and Goliath. We went back to the home to rest for awhile before going to the coolest thing in London: Dennis Sever’s House.
Dennis Sever bought an 18th century home in what is now the Bank District and completely refurnished it to its original time period. We went at 8:30, and there’s no electricity in the 4 story home. When you walk in you are immediately surrounded by the smells of freshly cooked meat, wine, apricot, and fire. The man who takes your money tells you not to touch anything and to whisper. See, Dennis Sever created what is called “Still Life Drama”. So, you either get it or you don’t. You either see it or you don’t. The idea is that you’re transported back in time to this home in the 18th century, and you’re visiting a family, yet they’re nowhere to be seen. The dinning room, the 1st room, is lit with candles and a fire. The food is half eaten on the plates and the glasses half full. You can hear the family whispering in the next room, yet you can never find them. While walking up the stairs you have to watch your head for the laundry hanging and you have to step over the children’s toys. There are notes written from family members to one another; on a thing of candy, “Sophie, don’t touch!”. The beds weren’t made, the fires were dimming, and you can hear people walking above you. In the kitchen there are still pancakes on the griddle and the bell rings. I can’t explain how incredible this experience is. The museum is only open for a couple hours at a time and only 4 days a month; I guess because it’s so much work to put it on. But if you’re ever in London, call and get reservations…they go quickly! We only got to go because other people cancelled.
And that was Monday.
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