Over the Thames

A fatter picture post (!!) with some shots of my walk around Westminster and South Bank. It was a cloudy day and as the evening wore on, it started raining in earnest, so the color isn't the best. But it's what it is, and it's still London! <3



South Bank has a Christmas Market right now, which is quite large. Most of these Christmas markets seem the same to me, but if you look carefully you can find some unique things. The benefit of this one is the array of yummy food stands -- there were plenty of those! So, if anything, you can get some churros or hot chocolate and stroll around listening to Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time" for the seven-billionth time (and that's okay).

One area I had never checked out before was Gabriel's Wharf with a number of independently run shops. There are a couple cafes and coffee shops along with a few print galleries and handcrafted gift shops -- definitely worth a stop!





Cheers!
Kate x

London: Art on and off the street

So, I got the obligatory (as I see it) HEYO LONDON post out of the way. There's a pattern that has developed over the years. I've been to London a handful of times now and every time I go, the first day always includes a beeline to Trafalgar Square, a walk down to Westminster Abbey and Parliament, across the bridge and along the Southbank, and then at some point back north of the river, catching the tube to whatever part of town I'm staying in that time. This time I was just north of Hyde Park in a nice little hotel, just far enough out of the central insanity of the Christmas shopping mecca, but still very close to it.

The first full I day in the city was spent walking around a bit, but the weather dissolved into steady rain so it was indoors entertainment for most of the afternoon. This included a major high point: Tate Modern. A little while ago they did a major rehang of their permanent collection (I'm not sure I'm 100% on board with it, but let's not go there), but I was particularly interested in seeing the Paul Klee exhibition (through 9 March 2014). Klee is one of the big guns of European modern art, involved closely with the Bauhaus, where he taught for ten years. He was meticulous about cataloguing his work and also note-taking about the artistic process, creating sketchbooks and notepads of diagrams and notes for use in his classes. A couple of these took the form of books, such as The Thinking Eye and Pedagogical Sketchbook (which I have an early edition of, which I'll unabashedly boast!)... it was a good show. Klee was the focus of much of my senior year as an undergraduate student, so it was cool to go back and revisit some of his work.

But I was surprised to find that I actually liked another show better. The Klee ticket could be bought in conjunction with the retrospective of Brazilian modern artist Mira Schendel for a pretty deep discount, so I decided, what the hell. I'd never heard of her, but for an extra £2 I could handle checking it out! And I have to say, it was love at first sight. Her work is totally rad, and yes, that is the technical term for it. The Tate Modern exhibition is only on for another month, through 19 January, but I would highly recommend it if you're interested in abstract art and sculpture with a firm connection to philosophy and language. I spent probably twice as much time in the Schendel show than in the Klee one, so it just goes to show... you never know.
Just some random shots outside those exhibitions at the Tate, and of course, one of the best places to snap colorful photos, the skate park with an ever-changing and encouraged array of spray art.

Cheers! Kate x

Hello London!

  

I love this city! On my first full day in the city, I started the morning at the National Gallery and took a walk through Westminster and around Southbank to get to Tate Modern. Luckily it didn't rain until later evening, but it was quite cloudy most of the time. Just a few photos!

I'm fairly positive I walked by Adam Godley! Having just watched Love Actually the other day, in which he plays the tiny-bit part of the teacher introducing the school nativity play, it was happily coincidental to see someone so fresh in memory.

Now I'm snacking on some Hobnobs and sipping an evening cuppa. By the way, does McVitie's still make mini Hobnobs? Those were the best...

Cheers,
Kate x

A lesson in stressful travel: The train to London

Yesterday morning I hopped the train at Edinburgh's Waverley Station and headed down to London. I was in a wonderful mood and ready to head south, but the journey wasn't without incident. I had an encounter with probably the gruffest, grumpiest ticket collector ever. Unfortunately I made a careless mistake and left part of my discount railcard in my flat. What I got for failing to read the small print and bringing along what amounted to only part of my railcard was a threat of a voided ticket and an up-front charge of £340 (I'm not actually sure where this number came from) for new tickets. Luckily, after explaining it was an honest mistake, he let it slide (phew!) and even though I had to blow quite a bit more on a new return (non-void) ticket, it's better than whatever that ridiculous £340 was! Perhaps that's how train companies make their money these days... but I refuse to be bitter. My only real complaint is with that particular guy's sideways sense of customer service. On the flip side, the other woman I talked to was wonderfully kind, so it cancels out. Ha, it is what it is.

Regardless, I arrived safe and sound in London in the afternoon, and despite seeing a rather bright and optimistic sunrise from the train earlier, it was rainy and heavy-skied all evening and into the night. I found my hotel, the Mornington Hotel right away, just off Hyde Park, and it's very nice. A lovely old pair of London townhouses that were remodeled and modernized inside to create a comfy little space with an adorable lounge downstairs that doubles as their homey Library Bar. I spent the evening walking around the very western end of Oxford Street, checking out all of the twinkling Christmas decorations and especially the inside of Selfridges. It's still high up on my to-do list to see Harrods all lit up, and perhaps Covent Garden too! I'm just loving the Christmassy atmosphere here, even if it is grey and rainy. Oh, London!

 



I've missed this city bunches. The last time I was here was 2011 and even since then, so much has changed. The skyline is different every time I visit! I just love it. I love the pubs, the fashionable people, Underground stations and the sound of the trains, the museums, and the fancy terraces, adorable mews and coffee shops. I'll never tire of it. :)

I hope everyone's week is off to a good start.

Cheers!
Kate x

Artsy going to London: Top 10 before the 25th!

Planning a trip is one of my favorite things to do. It can be tedious at times, what with train timetables, check-in and check-out times, connecting flights, the 'taxi or bus?' question, and, of course, figuring out the goings-on at my destination! And all the while, tedious though it may seem, it all underscores the whole reason I love to travel: let the good times roll! The more I know about what's going on, and the earlier I have the technical travel considerations taken into account, the more I enjoy myself when I get there--wherever 'there' happens to be.



As is often my style, I've booked a solo trip to London just before Christmas in order to take in the city's holiday atmosphere. (Any Love Actually fans out there? This is serious stuff!) I thought it would make a nice treat to myself after the completion of my first term of grad school (even though I'll still be knee-deep in essay writing, but a leisure trip to my favorite city is simply necessary!). I'll maybe do a bit of gift-shopping and check out some of the first-rate art shows and performances going on. And in true art student fashion, I hope to hit every single one of the events I've listed below, but of course I may end up getting stifled a bit... already looking at sold-out tickets for some things, but c'est la vie, right? It's London! There are always a million things going on! Duh!

I've got the hotel and train booked already, and I've got a running list of all the amazing events, markets, exhibitions, and festivals going on for the holidays... not to mention that just seeing Harrod's with their Christmas lights up will be worth it. I'm staying just off Hyde Park, so I'll definitely see Winter Wonderland and check out whatever the Serpentine Gallery has on.

I thought I would share a portion of my list of go-to artsy things that I will try my very mightiest to attend while in London. In any event, anything I do get to/see/am inspired by I will surely share on the blog!

--Top 10 artsy London events to check out before Christmas!--

1. Richard Serra, Drawings for the Courtauld - at The Courtauld Gallery 

until 12 Jan 2014

Twelve of Serra's recent drawings which he created specifically for the Courtauld.

2. Paul Klee - at Tate Modern 

until 9 Mar 2014

It's obviously about the artist Paul Klee, but what you might not know is that I did a massive senior research paper on Klee as an undergraduate at Wisconsin. I spent a lot of time studying his use of spiral motifs... but now I'm pretty pumped to see this large-scale exhibition at one of my favorite art museums.

3. Beyond El Dorado - at The British Museum 

until 23 Mar 2014

Power and gold in Colombia... did someone say "gold?"

4. The new Tate Britain 

ongoing

Restored rotunda, new cafe, reopened riverside entrance... I'm there. Not to mention they reopened their national collection of British art from 1500 back in May and I've wanted to see it ever since. Now's my time!

5. Body Language - at Saatchi Gallery 

until 16 Mar 2013

At the contemporary art gallery, an exhibition devoted to art of the human body.

6. Coriolanus - at Donmar Warehouse 

from 6 Dec 2013 to 8 Feb 2014

Tom Hiddleston stars in the title role of this Shakespearean tragedy.

7. Barbican Design Market - at Barbican Centre 

from 28 Nov to 22 Dec 2013

A selection of designers and top-notch craftspeople selling unique items that will make unexpected gifts this holiday... and if anything, at least worth a look at what all these designers are up to!

8. Spitalfields Winter Festival - Spitalfields Market 

6-17 Dec 2013

Music! Music in Spitalfields!

9. Pop Art Design - Barbican Art Gallery 

until 9 Feb 2014

An exhibition focused on the role that design played in Pop Art, which burst onto the art scene in the 1960s. Over 200 works are represented by household names like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg and the Eames brothers, among others.

10. Elizabeth I & Her People - at the National Portrait Gallery 

until 5 Jan 2014

An exhibition exploring the Elizabeth I and Elizabethan merchants, explorers and nobility through portraiture, their lives and history.




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Planning on going or are already in London? Anything you would suggest seeing? I LOVE recommendations! Comment below with anything from the must-see to the quirky to the 'hey, why not?'

I can't wait to revisit London, and I can't wait to share what I see.

Cheers!
Kate x

A little of this, a little of that

My attention has been pulled in various directions today--my first proper nothing-needs-doing day off in weeks--starting with a lovely little message in my Edinburgh mailbox about setting up my student email and welcome booklets! Nothing gets me more amped than reading about the logistics and the practicalities of life in a new city. I know, I know, it sounds like it should be the opposite, right? Finding out where the closest grocery stores are, how to open a bank account, what the most affordable public transportation is, who will meet me at the airport and so on... it's all rather boring in and of itself. But when you're talking something like Edinburgh (or throw in anywhere from San Francisco to Tokyo to the two two hours away from you that you've always wanted to live in), even the little things sound like great fun.

At least to me. ;)

My youngest sister made from-scratch pancakes for my mom and I this morning, meanwhile discussing other logistics and practicalities -- the kind pertaining to camping in less than a week! So looking forward to my sibling road trip to Montana. We leave next Saturday!

And then, to top it off, after a quick trip to the store for dinner items and things like Off Deep Woods bug spray, I got home and popped in a CD I've been listening to constantly for the last couple of days. An odd choice, but so it is: Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Wasps performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. One of my favorite classical tunes is "Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis" and second up is "The Lark Ascending." Kind of chill-yet-exciting classical stuff, very English, and just what I happen to be into today.

And on an English note, my other purchase of note from yesterday:

Great Houses of London by James Stourton, photographed by Fritz von der Schulenburg, and published by Frances Lincoln. It's an amazing, gorgeous book. It's no secret I'm a self-proclaimed Anglophile (it just happened), and although I don't usually find it necessary to own architecture and interior photography books (I love to look at them, but usually can't justify their cost) this one just drew me in. I just wanted to be in every single image. I want to visit all of these houses. I want to be in London right. now.

I want to be a lot of places right now, it seems. It's this summer, the weather, the plans and determination to go somewhere very soon. It all adds up. I've got the travel bug, full force! And of course I can't wait to share all that comes next.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 76