Galleries, Museums, and Free Croissants...Oh My!

A bad cold has made me feel pretty lousy the past couple of days, but this morning did start off with some nice points. 

1) I enjoyed a free croissant with my hot drink order at Caffe Forum, a cute cafe near my dorm.

Hot tea for the sore throat; delicious croissant for the tummy

2) The sun was shining! The temperature may still be quite low but at least the skies were blue and bright.

Although I wasn't thrilled to get my sick self to class at 9 AM these past two mornings, I LOVE my elective class. I am taking an art history course: "British Painting from Holbein to the Twentieth Century." Every class, we spend 1.5-2 hours being lectured and viewing slides in the classroom, and then spend the next 2 hours visiting a museum or gallery to actually see the artwork. How cool is that??

For the first class, we learned about the Parthenon Marbles (formerly referred to as the Elgin Marbles), and then took the tube to The British Museum in order to view them in person.

The British Museum

We weren't there to see the Rosetta Stone, but that's not just something you can walk by without taking a picture :)

Rosetta Stone

I remember studying these marbles in a high school art history course; to see them in the flesh took my breath away. Removed from the east pediment of the Parthenon in Athens, here are the three goddesses.

Sculpture of the three goddesses

Just look at that drapery! Rather than a mere slab of marble, can't you sense the nude bodies underneath?

Just in case you didn't catch that drapery the first time...

More of the Parthenon Marbles

Class Two took us to the National Gallery of Art, where we looked at several different paintings.

The National Gallery of Art

Photographs are not allowed in galleries. However, I saw so many famous works that I have to brag about some specific pieces. (Thanks Google images!)

William Hogarth, The Graham Children

Jan Gossaert, The Adoration of the Kings

Giotto di Bondone, Pentecost

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Adoration of the Kings

Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Hallett (The Morning Walk)

Turner, Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway

...and those were just the ones we stopped to discuss. As we passed through galleries, I glimpsed works by DaVinci, Rousseau, Caravaggio, Vermeer...clearly I will have to visit the National Gallery again soon.

For now, I'm just trying to feel better. Luckily--as my dad reminded me--I am in the land of tea!

By the way, I just booked my spring break trip! Any guesses as to what country I'll be visiting?