Sunday, October 10, 2010

First Week at the Courtauld

I didn't do much site-seeing this week because there was so much going on with Orientation and classes starting. On Monday I went to the annual Courtauld 'Pound Party' organized by the student's union. The theme was 'Tashes and Lashes' and I was one of the only girls who wore a moustache instead of crazy eye lashes. Anyway, the students union had several fun events throughout the week and luckily, a lot of upperclassman and graduate students go to those. The school itself is beautiful. Everything is in one building that centers around a spiral staircase that goes up three floors. Downstairs there's a really cute student cafe where the chef cooks delicious quiche, sandwiches and pasta salad. Also, they always have a ton of freshly baked things and they even have two kinds of carrot cake most of the time! And best of all, it's cheap! The eating area is a pretty common hang out/meeting spot and it's very charming. There are all these little nooks with brick walls...it's hard to explain so I'll have to post some pictures later on. Also downstairs, is the library which is sooo cute. Classes only started Thursday and I've already spent hours reading in it...All the classrooms are upstairs and each of them is a mini gallery. The walls are painted light blue and there is cleverly hung art (curated by Courtauld students) on every wall. the biggest room is the lecture theater which seats about 80 people. They don't need anything bigger because the school is so small. There are only 45 students in my year! It's nice because it means classes are small (nine to thirteen people) and it's easy to get to know the year.

As I mentioned earlier, courses started on Thursday. I'm taking two: one which is on methods (historiography) of art history and the other is on 17th century painting in the Netherlands. I already have a huge amount of reading for both! Even though the classes were mostly just introductions, we already had a really high level of discussion. At the same time, the professors are really nice and I feel really comfortable speaking openly about whatever we're discussing. I can tell I wont really have the typical study abroad 'have fun all the time' experience and that I'll actually be spending a lot of time doing work, but so far, I'm really enjoying it and I know I'll make time for museums and other site-seeing adventures.

This weekend a friend from Wellesley who is studying in Cordoba came to visit! I showed her around Chelsea and King's Road and then we went to the Strand where we walked through the Courtauld galleries and I showed her the institute building. Here's a picture of us in the somerset house courtyard!



We wandered down Fleet Street and eventually made it to Christopher Wren's beautiful St.Paul's Cathedral. Outside there's a great statue of Queen Anne and the mosaics on the inside are stunning. Unfortunately, the front of the cathedral was closed so we couldn't get too close. I think I'll have to go back to go all the way to the top. Here are some more pictures:




Last night we went to the final 'Fresher's Week Party' at this bike workshop/cafe called 'Look Mum No Hands.' I think I'm going to really like studying at the Courtauld. The students are all really smart and interesting and everything sounds better with a British accent! Today at 2:00 I'm going to a brunch with a bunch of recent Wellesley alums who are working/studying in London. I'm looking forward to that! Hopefully, I'll have more site-seeing to report soon!

Oh and also, I'm starting to think about weekend trips to other parts of the UK and welcoming suggestions. So far I know I want to go to Bath and Cambridge (maybe Oxford, maybe not). Let me know if you have suggestions!
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 11, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    Again, the Wellesley sisterhood is really pulling for you. Brava.

    You were a few steps away from St Mary Woolnoch by Hawkesmoor when you visited St Paul's. Next time.

    My friends [godparents], David and Mary, live near Bath now. I think they've been in touch with you. There are lots of add ons near there--Longleat House and Wells Cathedral being the big contenders. But Bristol Cathedral, with it's angel staircases, is nice, too.

    Lots of places are easy train rides out of London. Many of them you could probably manage as long daytrips. I found Cambridge more accessible than Oxford. Everything in Oxford is enclosed and I felt funny poking into places that didn't seem to want me. Cambridge was much more open and welcoming. But Oxford would be fun with someone who knows their way around.

    Ely Cathedral is close and a wonderful spot. Canterbury Cathedral and city are a reasonable outing, too. Could you combine Winchester and Salisbury? You should see Salisbury just so you can have the same reaction seeing the many Constable paintings of it that you had seeing Venice paintings. Cathedral towns are reasonably easy to reach by train, I think. Some of the great stately homes are more of a logistical challenge. I'll take a look at maps and think some more.

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  2. KevinOctober 12, 2010 at 6:33 PM

    I agree with Ken about Cambridge being more accessible than Oxford --- it's less urban and you can walk along the Cam river. (Probably too late in the year to go punting on the Cam but that's fun too.) If you time it you can drop in on Kings College Chapel and hear the choir sing which is wonderful. I liked Oxford as well but if you have only time for one Cambridge is the one to pick.

    Canterbury is also a manageable day trip, as is Dover Castle. Dover is the port where all the ferries cross the channel; I think the chunnel is right there as well.

    Another -- and very easy -- day trip is Knole, the ancestral home of the Sackvilles which goes back to Jacobean times. Vita Sackville West was the last of the Sackvilles and would have owned it but under English inheritance laws it couldn't go to her as a woman, and this is part of what Virginia Woolf apparently wrote about in Orlando (which I've never read). In any event its a wonderful house and close to London, much closer than any of the places your are describing, making for a pleasant and easy day trip.

    PS: We had dinner with your brother the other night in Cambridge since we were staying with my brother just 5 minutes from Tufts. He seems to be doing well.

    Love, from both me and Jim

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