Mid trip-Mid week

Every Wednesday I only have a half a day at my internship, which is great because it gives me the opportunity to explore the city for the other half of the day. After a quick lunch I decided to make my way over to Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery. The National Gallery displays one of the finest and most comprehensive collection of European paintings. Currently at the gallery is a display called Corot to Monet. This display was of mostly oil painting by 19th century men of natural landscapes of various areas throughout Europe and it was by far my favorite part of the gallery. Outside in Traflagar Square a lot of events were going on. Right outside of the gallery was on open area in

 which individuals could draw/write with chalk on the ground. Overa

ll, some of the things created were quite interesting. Many RIP's to MJ, so-in-so loves so-in-so for ever, flags, animals and inspirational quotes my favorite being pictured on this page! 

Additionally for 100 days londoners are having the opportunity to stand on the fourth plinth in the square. Traditionally the fourth plinth on the northwest corner of the square (which was built in 1841) has remained emptied (due to insufficient funds at the time 

it was built) but, now 2,400 people have the opportunity to change this. While I was in the square two people took the plinth both spending their hour quite differently and that's what I like most about this event. It allows all participants to spend their hour however they like. One individual spoke out against smoking, a stay-at-home mother spoke out, the director of the National gallery sketched london from the plinth and some are up their just to perform.

After a rainy bus ride back to my flat some of my roommates decided to go out shopping for a birthday outfit (we were going to celebrate a 21st birthday that night and of course they both wanted new outfits). So we ended up shopping for an hour and a half and i ended up getting nothing but a swollen knee. Being the clumsy that I am I ended up hitting a bench/end table 

and it absolutely killed my knee (and still had to walk home and hobble up a million flights of stairs...) and unfortunately did not even get to go out and celebrate.

Today (thursday) started out bright and early with another class field trip to Westminster Abbey. While I was extremely impressed by the church in its entirety, I guess I was a little disappointed overall. The Abbey is a working church with a daily

 cycle of prayer and worship but in my opinion the tombs and monuments made the building seem more like a museum than a holy place of worship. 

Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed learning about the history of London (through the changes in religion and rulers) I had different expectations for our visit than what actually occurred and hope that will the time I still have left here I can attend one of their services (and hopefully find a more religious feeling). One of the most impressive things about the building is its sheer size and its architectural design and with each new century something "new" is added to the building. In general, I had an amazing time at the Abbey and am so grateful to have gotten a private guided tour. The rest of the day did not live up to the morning with another FIE class to go to (it is truly the bane on my existence). Today for the first time did I step far out of my comfort zone and attended a book signing and Q&A hosted by the World Congress of Faiths. While I was the youngest person in the crowd, I really enjoyed what the authors had to say about their books and the inspirations behind them. The rest of the night was spent in the company of my roommates and some badly inspired british tv (which I hate to say it but I actually enjoy).