Rainy day in London

Taking advantage of the Eurostar ticket offer of 2 for 1 museum tickets we decided to pay a visit to the National Portrait Gallery, Picasso Portraits Exhibition. The National Portrait Gallery is free to visit, but there are different exhibitions for which you need to pay. One ticket for the Picasso Exhibition was 17 GBP. Photography was not permitted in the exhibition so there will be no pictures of the over eighty works of the artist which focus on the portrayal of family, friends and lovers of his. The exhibition reveals his creative processes from drawing from life to humorous caricatures and expressive painting from memory as well as a few sculptures. Some of the portraits include those of Jacqueline Roque (second wife of Picasso), some of the Las Meninas series, of Olga Picasso (a Russian ballerina – first wife of Picasso), some self-portraitures, portraitures of his male friends, Fernande Olivier (model and lover of Picasso) and the development of Cubism plus many others.

The next stop of the day was the Parish Church of Stephen Walbrook which was included in the BBC top 10 of the most beautiful ceilings in the world. It is located very close to Bank station, exit 8. From outside it appears to be a very modest building with a classic architecture characterised by English Baroque. It was designed by Christopher Wren, one of the architectural wonders of late 17th Century Europe. The dome (19.3 m) was a scale-model as Christopher wanted to use his original design for St Paul’s Cathedral however he was not chosen.

A few further stops on the Northern line at Angel station (longest escalator on the Underground – 60 m), you can find Victoria Miro Gallery with free admission. Some of the exhibitions include Tschabalala Self (17.01 – 12.03) and Do Ho Suh – Passage/s, (01.02 – 18.03). The gallery is almost unique in London for having its own garden, a beautiful landscaped area overlooking a restored stretch of the Regent’s Canal at Wenlock Basin. There is a second Gallery in Mayfair exhibiting House Work from 25.01 to 18.03.

Close to Victoria Miro Gallery, you can find London’s new self-called iconic building called Canalleto Tower, a 100m residential building. Next door, for the last stop before heading home, enjoy a delicious meal at Duncan Terrace Café. They have also great deals for hot beverages and pastries.