Day 4: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament, and the National Gallery.

This was the day I fell for London. I took the train to the Westminster station, just to come out and see the Big Ben in front of me. To me, Big Ben is associated with Around the World in Eighty Days, with Jules Verne, with my childhood. I could not believe I did not have to walk around much to find it. I asked someone foolishly: "Is this the Big Ben?". Sure it was. Then, across the street was the gorgeous Westminster Abbey. Further down, the Parliament. All these buildings were magnificent. Although I had seen everything quickly as they were located next to each other, I did not feel like leaving. I kept walking around these buildings. There was a park behind the Parliament. It was called the Victoria Garden. By American standards, it was such a small park. But it was gorgeous. One could not ask for better views. Colorful trees in fall in front of the Parliament on one side, the river and the London Eye on the other. I could stay there forever.

I still had a good portion of the afternoon. So, I hit the National Gallery. I could not believe my eyes. Room after room of so many large gorgeous paintings of so many famous artists including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Degas, and Picasso. Although I had seen some of the most famous paintings on postcards or large prints of them in many places,seeing the real ones, with the signature of the artists, learning about their lives and their relationships with their families, colleagues, and friends was something else. Like the British Museum, I could spend days in this museum, looking at each painting carefully, and learning about the stories behind each one of them. One of the many paintings I liked was called Cupid Complaining to Venus by Lucas Cranach the Elder.




Cupid complains to Venus of being stung by bees when stealing a honeycomb. This is to be taken as a moral commentary; as the inscription observes: 'life's pleasure is mixed with pain.'

I like London. I am beginning to feel sorry for myself, spending so much of my life just commuting to different places in Maryland.