Day 2: The Museum Adventure Continues

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I've done more museums in two days of being in London then I think I've done in my whole life lol. Yesterday was the National Gallery, which is soooo not me. I enjoyed the pictures but by no means am I into art that much. Today was the on Gallery I had to see, the National Portrait Gallery. It was absolutely amazing.

I saw paitings that were done in the 1500s. Pictures of Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I and Henry VIII, to name but a few of the old ones. There were paintings of more modern royals, such as Queen Elizabeth II with her parents and sister in 1950, Princes William and Harry, as well as their parents, done in the '80s.

It was interesting to hear about how people from the time described some of the subjects verses how the artist paited them. It seems that if you had wealth and power, the artist would often make you look a lot more "pretty/beautiful" then what you really looked like. There were a few cases where the subject looked nothing like what some of his/her contemporaries described them as.

The his of a place like that, seeing the paintings of those who have been gone for hundreds of years was indiscribable for me. It was more than worth the sore feet I still have some 3 1/2 hours after visiting.

I highly recommend to anyone who is into history, or who's just curious about the past to include the National Portrait Gallery in their itinerary if they ever visit London. It is worth the time and effort. Plus there's the added bonus that it's free for the main Gallery only costs to see the special exhibits. Can't go wrong with that price. Just make sure you have plenty of water and sensible shoes, cause it's a long walk with a lot of staning in one place for periods of time.

Sadly, there was a downside to today, Canada is closed for renovations. My cousin, whom I'm staying with thought I was nuts when I told him that I wasn't able to find Canada House on my first visit to Trafalgar Square. He's comment to me was, it's the one with the flags of the provinces. You can't miss it, it's right there. Sadly I did miss it yesterday, even though I walked right by it to catch the bus. Guess I was more focused on the bus yesterday. Today it caught my eye, because I was looking for an alternative bus stop, as the one I got yesterday is closed for the week. I love when things are found via accident. I'm two for two, in two days. I wonder what tomorrow will bring. It ought to be interesting.

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