You Win Some, You Lose Some

Today was another rainy day in London so my friend Emma and I decided it would be a good day to  explore some of the free art galleries and museums that London has to offer. Our first destination was the Kenwood House which dates from the early 17th Century and boasts a small but very unique collection of Old Master paintings. Unfortunately, after the trek that it takes to actually reach the house, we discovered that it was closed for major renovations. Not only was this disappointing because of the time it took to get there, but the outside of the house, or mansion might be a more appropriate word, was beautiful and looked like it would have been awesome to walk around.

Part of the grounds at Kenwood House

Had it been nicer, we would have spent some time walking the grounds as the house sits atop a hill that overlooks some beautiful paths and ponds, and the surrounding area had some cool trails through the woods, but as it was rainy and cold with the wind spitting water in our faces under our hoods, we decided that we might have to count this little adventure as a loss.

We began the journey back to Central London, turning our hopes on the next place on our list: The Wallace Collection. The Wallace Collection, which is held in an beautiful old house, sits across from Manchester Square and has a world-famous range of arts and furniture from the 15-19th centuries. Luckily, once we got there we were delighted to see that it was in fact open, so we took our time walking through the 25 different art galleries. 

 

Emma and I at the Wallace Collection

My favorite room

To say the place was beautiful is an understatement. I'm not sure I could accurately or fairly describe all of the unique pieces of furniture, everything from chandeliers to couches and pianos to clocks, or magnificent old paintings that took up nearly every inch of available wall space. It's no wonder that Richard Wallace's widow requested that no piece ever leave the collection. We walked slowly through the rooms and the strange respectful hush that usually comes with walking through museums and art galleries, admiring all of the pieces and taking pictures of our favorites. As I said before, I don't think I could truly describe everything we saw so I will let my pictures do my  talking for me. 

 

The first art gallery collection

Painting paintings everywhere

I loved this clock

After we had finished walking through the house, we headed back to our dorm, happy that at least one of the places had not only worked out but was totally worth going to see. We quickly stopped by the grocery store to pick up ingredients for the first dinner we could actually cook because we finally got actual pots and pans. Dinner this evening was chicken, mangoes, and broccoli over a bed of brown rice (shout-out to Aunt Re for introducing this to me) with a side of lightly seasoned zucchini and green beans. Yes, abroad-life dinners are classy. Afterwards, because we were feeling so accomplished (and still hungry...) Emma and I decided to run back to the grocery store across the street and pick up a mini Belgian chocolate cake that we topped with some raspberries. To say that this was the highlight of the night was an understatement--it was probably the best decision we made all day. And if you're not jealous of just the thought of it, I will end this post with a nice picture of said cake: