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Wednesday, April 26, 2022 Art Galleries

 After yesterday’s sunshine, today’s weather was overcast and chilly. Well, I said chilly this morning because I didn’t want to sound like a wimpy Arizonan but my Londoner cousin commented, “Freezing!” It wasn’t freezing, it was in the low 40s but I was certainly glad I had bought that warm jacket!

I didn’t sleep very well last night, probably the heavy 5 Guys hamburger and fries I had in Richmond and the Coke Zero at 5:00 pm. Plus at around midnight a couple were in the hall arguing. I wanted to poke my head out and ask them to take it inside their room but these days you just don’t know who you’re dealing with. The argument only lasted about 5 minutes before they went inside the room. And about 10 minutes later I heard footsteps outside our room heading for the stairs. Shades of my crime novel, which I probably should also not have stayed p reading.

All was quiet this morning though, no detectives knocking on our door asking if we’d heard any goings on in the next room…. I didn’t get dressed very quickly though, took my time waking up. Richard was raring to go so he went outside and sketched the hotel and gardens again. I really do think the man must be a popsicle tonight; he’s already gone to bed fully clothed although he said he felt fine. He only wore a sweatshirt all the way around London today.

Yes, London. We took the Tube to Charing Cross this morning and went to the National Gallery. Last September when I’d visited I’d only had time to do “Route 1” which consisted of the early and late Renaissance painters. Today we went through the rooms dedicated to painters from the 1500s on—Italian, Dutch, French. My favorite room, as usual, contained some of the great Impressionists. Here are two photos of one of the hallways and the paintings I liked the best:











It’s not possible for us to see room after room of art and not feel overwhelmed. We spent about an hour and a half at the National Gallery and then looked for some lunch, settling on two starters at an Italian restaurant. Food is expensive in all but fast food restaurants; I am quickly overcoming my embarrassment at “only” ordering starters at restaurants when the menu is too pricey.

We walked up Pall Mall and I took some photos in St. James’s Park:





The day was obviously not going to be sunny; no rain but overcast and so cold. I wanted to pay my respects at one old Wren Church, St. James’s, which I had stopped at in September, and then we headed back to Wimbledon. The churches in London provide welcome daytime shelter for the homeless; warmth on cold days like this, free cups of tea and probably food as well:








I saw someone sleeping under a tree in St. James’s Park, wrapped tightly in a sleeping bag. How thankful I was to be going home to a warm room in a hotel—totally humbled because, really, how was it that I made it through my life to have these comforts now? When we were approaching the hotel we saw a Thai restaurant called “Giggly Squid” (yes, really) and we stopped in for warm plates of food. Again, how is it that I survived after all my mistakes. And yet, there’s that Barbra Streisand songs with the lyrics:

They say there's a universal plan
For every woman, for every man
I do believe there's a higher power
But in our darkest hour it's hard to understand
So we start to question, start to doubt
We lose faith in what life's all about

Why did the right road take the wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why'd we get burned
Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned

Don't give up, keep on looking deep inside
Let your heartbeat be your guide
Because there's a gift, for those who keep believing
You'll find what you've been needing is right before your eyes

Then you'll know, you'll finally understand

Why did the right road take a wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why'd we get burned
Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned

No matter how many times you stumble or fall
The greatest lesson is loving yourself through it all

Why did the right road take a wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why'd we get burned
Just like the seasons, there are reasons for the path we take

There are no mistakes
Just lessons
Lessons to be learned

Those lyrics may sound trite when you think of the big problems of homelessness, of abuse, of deep heartbreak, war . . . but in my life, at a time when I thought that I had screwed up my life royally, when I was afraid to look to the future and just focused on surviving that day and then the next, and the next, that song gave me some hope. And for some reason, that’s the song I thought of as I was sitting in St. James’s Church and, later, heading back to the hotel. 

England does that to me. Because it’s where I found out that I had far more courage than I ever thought I had even though I also found out that courage is something that doesn’t really come and stay in your heart, you have to keep on digging into yourself for it…. Oh golly, I’m turning philosophical. Time to go to bed!

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