Still Melting

It's 11pm here and a balmy 28 degrees centigrade outside. Translation: With the River Thames only mere blocks away and pavement and stone covering almost every concievable inch of the world directly surrounding me, I am literally BBQ-ing as I type this.

The door in the computer cafe is WIDE open, the fan is going full-bore and still I'm wondering if it's possible to get heatstroke at bedtime.

I spent part of my afternoon at the National Gallery looking at portraits, but since the first thousand or so depicted Christ on the cross, or Mary's lap, that started to get old fast. After all, there are only so many ways he can be painted, so many times I can be surprised at the bold colors used, so many times I can look at a naked baby and wonder if depicting Baby Jesus as uncircumcised can really be correct, if there are 2 paintings of his actual circumcision on display, as well. But I digress.

Anyone, I only found one that I found appealing:

Not that it's the sort of painting I'd buy or hang on my wall, but just because of it's clarity, the gold tones and the way it is multidimensional. It wasn't the most astounding piece I saw all day, but the one that disappointed me the least out of the many on display with that subject matter.

I discovered that Rembrandt doesn't impress me in the least, and I failed to be awed by the presence of his paintings. Michelangelo and Raphael seemed almost interchangable in some respects with the paintings on display. Obviously Raphael was influenced by Michelangelo but I didn't feel anything stood out.

I did however really enjoy the impressionists, and bought a few postcard prints of Monet and Manet paintings. I think I'll hit the Tate tomorrow if I have time because I know I enjoy contemporary and modern art for the most part.

Mostly, I spent my time there looking at paintings that included a dog, trying to figure out what breed or breeds are being depicted, since so many have changed so drastically.

Yes, I'm definitely still me.

One thing I noticed about London today in my wandering is that it's almost impossible to get REALLY lost.

A brief moment of hesitation or a confused look always results in a kindly local pointing out the way, or clearing some unspoked question up.

Even if I really wanted to get lost, I can't fault them for knowing how to do their part for tourism. After all, not everyone is crazy like me.

I did manage to get lost though, and wandered down an alley to discover a little back of the way Indian place where the guys were awesome. They bought me wine just so I'd stay and talk, and the food was excellent.

Do wander down the back streets of London's East end if you feel up to it. There were several little places that looked excellent, and I wish I could have tried them all.

I'm getting booted out of the cafe now as it's 11:30, so I suppose I should either go get drunk or go to bed.