After Nuremberg, we made our way to Bruges via Aachen, Charlemagne's imperial capital in the 8th century. It was fun to stop here and see his palatine chapel, which was modeled off San Vitale in Ravenna and still had his throne, built on stones brought from the temple in Jerusalem. They also had a treasury filled with medieval objects and also locks cut off the Virgin's reliquary there every 7 years and reflecting their time periods.
Bruges was absolutely wonderful! It is almost colonial in its emphasis on brick buildings, and we had some beautiful fall weather very akin to the Northeast. It is also a canal city like Venice and very intimate in its size. Everywhere you look there is delicious food--mussels, chocolate, waffles. Not to mention their museums, housing a large collection of Netherlandish paintings including Jan Van Eyck's Virgin and Child with Canon Van Der Paele which honestly may have been the painting highlight of the entire trip! We had one last practice presentation in this museum and my group got to do a very Boschian Last Judgement which was a lot of fun! Alex and I went and got mussels and frites in a cellar-like restaurant and it was delicious!
Before we knew it we were back on a bus (British this time--it had started in Oxford!) on the way back to England. In transit we stopped in Ghent to see the much-anticipated (by me, anyway) altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck and his brother. It was housed in a strange aquarium-like glass barrier that made it hard to see close up but was still very impressive. No one paints like Van Eyck, that's for sure. I was so happy that Stevens bought us all a little fold-out version for our journals!
Ghent Cathedral
To get back to England we went through customs again and then our bus was loaded INSIDE the Chunnel with us still inside it! This time it took only 30 minutes but it was definitely a strange experience to be on a bus, it a tube, under the English Channel! We were reunited with our luggage--for me that was a small cardboard box I had gotten for free in the covered market-- at our hotel near Paddington Station. Also we ate some Indian food at a place called Khan's nearby!The next day was our visit to the Houses of Parliament. It was a little rainy, but going inside this building which I had studied was really amazing! It was so interesting to learn about the House of Commons and Lords and figuring out how British government differs from ours. After our tour we got to hear an MP from Canterbury speak and have lunch with him, which was very enlightening.
That afternoon, Alex accompanied me to an interview/admissions meeting at the Courtauld Institute of Art, probably the most prestigious postgraduate institution for art history in the world. I was terrified to go, but it went very well! They were eager to speak with me and answer my questions, and even let me see the library and cafe. The institute it too small and in use to allow tours most days, but they were so accomodating! There is also a gallery connected and Alex and I went in to see an AMAZING young Durer drawing exhibit that also included some prints by Schongeour. They also had Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergeres which is such an important painting, really attesting to the significance of the Institute! Right next door was King's College which is where I met my grandbig Michelle (she is doing her master's degree in English in London) and we went for fish and chips!
The next day was the last day of European Studies.... I know, it is impossible for me to believe to. I woke up eager to see my parents because they had been flying all night to meet me, but there were things I needed to do first. The main one was my final exam for the course! We all had to do one final presentation at the National Gallery. Our group did wonderfully, presenting on the Wilton Diptych, Richard II's private altarpiece.
I waited for my parents to meet me outside the Gallery underneath a statue of a giant blue rooster, and it was a reunion for the ages!
We transferred all my stuff to their hotel, and then I was back with the group for our last hurrah at the Royal Opera House for the ballet! We saw a production of Romeo and Juliet. I had never been to the ballet but it was such an interesting experience! It is really amazing how absorbed you can get in the story and its theatrics even with no dialogue!
We had a very, very special farewell dinner at the Garrick club, an actor/gentleman's club with which we have a special connection. It was faaancy and we were the beautiful people in such an elite locale!
Three fish appetizers followed by duck!
Sally got up to speak and we all cried saying goodbye, but that's how its supposed to be at the end of something so special. I shared a cab with Sally and her husband as I went back to my parent's hotel, and it was nice to have that private moment with them to say bye. I know I'm going to miss this semester--there is nothing like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment