Saturday was an impulsive day with minimal planning. Elizabeth and I decided we wanted to see Abbey Road. It had been on my mental to do list and it was beautiful weather so I figured it would be the perfect day to go.
We got there and there were probably twenty people gather around the iconic intersection. There were about ten Spanish people who were apparently hardcore Beatles fans since they took a ridiculous amount of photos. Of course, we wanted the obligatory photo of the landmark but we also didn't want to be obnoxious since it is an actual road with real life drivers. I can only imagine how annoying that would be to live near the intersection and have to deal with bimbo tourists everyday.
Anyway, back to the Spanish people. They thought it was necessary to take a individual photos, then all the girls, then the guys, then couples, then a whole group shot, then even more combinations of all of them. Literally every 10 seconds they would walk out into the street and take another photo. You just had to laugh watching all of this nonsense. The group eventually left and we tried to get a photo. It worked out pretty well. And, this area was really upscale. I don't know why that still is notable to me since nearly every part of London is picturesque. Below is some photos from Abbey Road.
right outside the tube
Notice the white road sign on the building....pretty cool.
Spaz time....giant group of tourists in the background.
Terrible attempt at simulating The Beatles albulm cover. Good try I guess. Oh well.
My life is not real.
Trying to act like a band?
Abbey Road Studios
New Friends in front of the studio
After Abbey Road we were starving for lunch (Me, hungry? Who would have guessed??) After going to Borough Market the day before for class, I wanted to go back and actually eat there. It's hard to explain it, but there's a distinct energy just being in the market. It's a huge space that is woven inside a group of cobblestone streets and brick buildings. There's a blur of noise and a hustle of people squeezing through the crowds. I love it. I wish I could go back every day. The food is delicious, but it's also expensive. The food is so fresh and lots of homemade stuff; olive oil, wine, pastries, cheese, sausages and so much more. It's making my mouth water just thinking about this... I setttled on a free range chicken sandwich with homemade salsa (gotta have anything spicy!). It was amazing. So delicious!
The three of us ate our lunch in a churchyard just around the corner from the market.
After Borough, Elizabeth and I headed to the National Gallery. It's in Trafalgar Square and it's a very recognizable building in the center of the city. It's an art museum with mostly paintings; this fall they have a special exhibition on Venice. One of the most famous paintings in the museum is Vinvent Van Gogh's "Sunflowers". We also saw Monet and Seurat paintings along with hundreds of others. Neither of us had much vested interest in this museum; it's just one of those that you have to visit if you live in London.
National Gallery in the background
On the steps of the National Gallery overlooking Trafalgar Square (Big Ben in the far background...if you squint ;)
Couldn't take photos inside but here in the front room of the museum
Love this picture of Trafalgar Square
Just off the Square is the National Portrait Gallery. It's another one of those things you just have to do. We saw portraits of Jane Austen, Queen Elizabeth II, The Beatles and others. We didn't stay more than an hour. It was considerably smaller than the National Gallery. Afterward, we wandered into a church across the street, St. Martin in the Fields. The inside was beautiful. They were practicing some sort of freed slaves program inside. It was bizarre. They were playing music, singing and someone was speaking. I was unsure of what it was, but it just didn't seemed like it was a program the group of both adults and students would perform for the church. Just really strange to me.
National Gallery is on the left (barely)
Inside the church with the people practicing the program
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