The last couple of weeks I have stayed in London and generally tried to cross a few more things off my list, catch up on sleep, get into somewhat of a routine of working out, and I suppose most importantly I've actually started to get some work done again.
First, I crossed off the last of my primary museums off my list. Last Sunday and Monday we had major internet issues at Bankside, so a few of us decided to check out the London Sports Cafe, which is between Trafalgar and Piccadilly. I have been asked how it was a number of times, and the best way I can describe it is as London's best attempt at an American-style sports bar. We checked out the ATP Miami 1000 finals, which Andy Roddick won, which was pretty cool, especially given that it was in the US, so he had a home crowd behind him which is always that much more exciting.
The next day we set off for the National Portrait Gallery, which is actually in the same building as the National Gallery off Trafalgar, though kind of hidden on the other side. In any case, it was a phenomenal museum. For starters, it was free (like most of the major UK museums - I'm going to miss this when I get back to the US). Beyond that though, the collection was superb - from the Tudor Dynasty all the way into modern British portraitures. The layout was nice, the casual tourist traffic was minimal (except for a couple of rooms, which is fine... I just don't like the insane crowds for 2 hours straight). A few interesting observations... first, I was surprised and a bit impressed that they had a nice portrait of George Washington intermixed with those from King George III's era (he was King during the American Revolution). That said, it was an interesting placement for sure... the Washington portrait was one of only two American portraits, and it was in a far corner of the room (and the museum) where very few people would actually see it. Plus, it was surrounded by portraits of double and some times triple the size of all of the British Generals (Howe, Gage, Clinton, Cornwallis, etc.) who fought in the Revolutionary War. Now, that's somewhat understandable, except for the part where all of these guys got their asses absolutely handed to them by Washington & co. at the end of the day. So yeah I thought that was an interesting feature. Then, in the next room, there was a portrait of the American writer Thomas Paine which was larger than any of those in the previous room! He is the writer of Common Sense, the pamphlet which provided the justification to the American colonists (who were actually largely against independence originally) for joining the fight against the British.
In any case the museum was superb and I would easily go back to spend more time there. With that, I want to go through a list of the museums I have seen and then the London museums and sights I still want to get to, neither in any particular order:
Museums visited:
1) National Gallery
1) National Gallery
2) National Portrait Gallery
3) Tate Modern
4) Tate Britain
5) Imperial War Museum
6) Natural History Museum
Still to go:
1) Victoria & Albert Museum
2) Monument
3) Kew Gardens
4) Wimbledon
5) Westminster
6) St. Paul's Observatory
7) Greenwich
8) Canary Wharf
Obviously there are tons more places I've been to as far as historical sites and whatnot, but it would be impossible (or take a very long time) to list, so for now that's what I'm sticking to. If I could get to those last 8 places though (which shouldn't be terribly difficult - none of them would take more than half a day) before leaving in July I would be very happy.
Besides all of this, the sports update... the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team made the Frozen Four this year, and won the semi-final game over RIT by a commanding 8-1. Then, in the National Championship Game, they skated in a defensive duel the first 40 minutes only to be down by 1-0 to Boston College. In the third period, however, it all went to hell, and they ended up losing by a final 5-0. That said, they had a phenomenal season. Nobody, and I mean nobody, picked them to make the final game, and despite the loss, they had a great year and it was fun to see them get some national recognition. Next time I'll have to make sure I'm in the building like in 2006 to ensure they bring home the trophy! In NHL-land, the regular season has come to a close! The Blackhawks finished as the 2nd seed in the Western Conference, and set franchise records in wins (52), away wins (23), points (112), and many other things. This really was an unprecedented season in so many ways. All of that is moot, however, if this doesn't materialize in the playoffs now. As the 2nd seed, we draw the 7th seed, Nashville. While the consensus is that it would take some sort of a miracle for Nashville to actually take 4 games from the Hawks in a 7 game series, that does not mean it will not be a physically demanding and intense series. The Hawks have home ice, and the best thing they can do is come out on Friday and absolutely destroy the Predators in front of what is sure to be a rocking United Center. Take care of game 1 - maybe a 5-1 final? Close out game 2, and then you seek a split in Nashville and win it on home ice in game 5. A lot of people are upset that the Hawks don't start until Friday night, but it works for me. I'll be in Italy and generally unable to follow the first few games, and this way I only miss 3 games, and can catch games 4 and beyond from London when I get back. Here's hoping the Hawks are up 2-1 or even 3-0 by the time I get caught up to speed!
In football, Chelsea is on a roll as of late. They won their FA Cup semifinal draw against Aston Villa 3-0, and now face Cinderella story Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final in May. Before that, however, we have 5 more games remaining in the Premier League. The Blues face off against Bolton in a late start tonight, 8pm, and this is their game at hand over second-place Manchester United. Chelsea is already up by 1 point, and a win tonight will give us a commanding lead with only 4 more games to play for each side. COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!!!
On the weather note, things are FINALLY looking up! The sun is seemingly out for at least a part of every day, and we're back to being consistently in the 50F degree range. Right now I think it's 52, but yesterday 59, etc. So cheers to that!
Academically, as promised, I am actually getting some work done. I have formally submitted my dissertation proposal, which is due at the end of the month, and am waiting to hear back from my Advisor about that. Regarding these assessed essays, I have picked my questions for each and started constructing my actual argument for the first one due - I think I have a pretty good idea and argument on my side.
Next up - ITALY! Itinerary as follows:
Wednesday April 14, Day 1 - Fly to Rome
Thursday April 15, Day 2 - Rome
Friday April 16, Day 3 - AM Rome, train to Pisa for the late afternoon, night in Florence
Saturday April 17, Day 4 - Florence
Sunday April 18, Day 5 - Florence
Monday April 19, Day 6 - AM Florence, PM train to Naples
Tuesday April 20, Day 7 - Ferry to Capri
Wednesday April 21, Day 8 - Happy Birthday to ME! AM Pompeii, PM Rome, fly back to London
That is the plan! Hopefully at some point I'll get to update from Pizza-land, but no promises.
Have a great week everyone, I'll catch ya on the flip side!
Have a great week everyone, I'll catch ya on the flip side!
No comments:
Post a Comment