Back to this blog again I guess! I like blogger so I shouldn't leave it this long haha!! On Tuesday I had a pretty full day of doing fun stuff so I thought I'd blog about it ^.^
I had read a few months ago two of my favourite artists - Yoshitomo Nara and Jenny Saville, were exhibiting in London galleries so because I don't go into London very often I decided to see both in one day! I got the train at about midday and arrived in London at around two so as soon as I arrived I made a beeline to my lunch stop of the day.
Before I go anywhere basically, I always research where I'm going to go eat because you gotta make sure that you're not getting ripped off, which is often the case when you go out to eat in central London. I'm really in to Scandinavian food, so when I found the ScandiKitchen Cafe & Shop I decided to go there immediately because it was somewhat near the galleries I had booked to go to.
Inside the cafe has very Scandinavian minimalist interior design and has a really nice atmosphere, not to mention it's air-conditioned! I was debating whether to eat in or eat outside but after feeling that good air-con I decided to pay a little extra and eat inside. Because I got there a bit after lunch they only had a few things on display and so I didn't have to make much of a decision on what to eat, which maybe was a good thing lol.
I got the smoked carrot and avocado open sandwich with beetroot salad + filter coffee,
it was all really tasty :p
After I devoured my lunch I got the bus - which I realised when I was on it was only about two stops and I could of just walked - to my next location.The next place on my agenda was a visit to a stationery shop that I have been dying to go to for ages - the shop Choosing Keeping. Choosing Keeping are an independent stationery shop that sell basically, the cutest things in existence whilst keeping it totally classy. I wasn't able to take any photos inside so you have just got to believe me that it really is the place of dreams, if your dreams consist of high quality paper and bear stickers like mine do. Their site is here if you are interested. I had to get at least a couple things I had to restrain myself a couple times from going crazy and buying everything I set my eyes on. It's like if I was Carrie Bradshaw, Choosing Keeping would be my Jimmy Choo - I should not be allowed in unattended. The whole shop was full of cool looking people and even though I wanted to spend hours in their absorbing their coolness and trying out expensive pens, I was going to be totally late for my first booking! Here are the couple of things I managed to purchase before I had to tear myself away:
Bear marriage!
Choosing Keeping branded silk screen print - the paper is TDF!
Maybe my favourite purchase of the day - glittery cat stickers!
They are jelly stickers so are raised off of the page.
I fast walked past China town and Leicster Square to the National Portrait Gallery where the Jenny Saville exhibit was being shown. As usual, I was convinced that due to my lateness I would be denied entry but I was let in without a bat of an eyelash! If you are familiar with Jenny Saville's work then you will be aware that her paintings are around 3 meters tall and just as wide. So as soon as I walked into the exhibit I was greeted with her work towering over me, which was pretty incredible. The exhibition began with her earliest works, which are defined by their pale backgrounds and usually focus on the female body as a subject.
Propped - 1992
This piece was displayed originally by a mirror so that you can read the
backwards words edged into the painting. The text, from an essay by feminist writer
Luce Irigaray, reads: 'if we contiue to speak in this sameness - speak as men have spoken for
centuries, we fail each other.'
The exhibit followed Jenny Saville's artistic career and each room or hallway was specific to a particular era in her life as an artist. This next room was a favourite of mine and focuses on her work in the early 2000s where she focused mainly on portraiture but of people who have appearances outside of the social norm. Her style has differed somewhat over the years, really just proving how talented she really is - she can do anything!
Witness - 2009
This one was so cool up close, so many layers and textures.
Stare - 2004/5
This painting is actually the Manic Street Preachers Journal For Plague Lovers artwork!
She also did the cover art for their 1994 album The Holy Bible. I got a postcard of this at the shop.
One out of Two (symposium) - 2016
Out of one, two (symposium) - 2016
Chasah - 2020
The exhibition was super worthwhile - and free for under 25s too which was cool! I then walked over the road to the Japan Centre because they usually have stationery on sale and I am stationery-obsessed as you now know LOL.
I got some cat sticky notes, which I will probably give to my sister as she is 'cat-obsessed' and some adorable washi tapes with retro Japanese sweets on them. I also got a matcha melon pan and some jasmine tea that I devoured without taking a photo of - oops! It was at this point I checked the time, and lo and behold I was going to be late for my next booking! If you are in any way familar with central London you will be aware that it is an incredibly walkable city which is something I was so graetful for in that moment as I began to sprint to the next gallery. I even had to cross the river Thames via bridge LOL, so I was obviously a bit sweaty and warm by the time I made it.
The next exhibit was for the artist Yoshitomo Nara - whose work is much more illustrative and kitsch than Savilles. The exhibit started with the cutest shed which had been decorated by Nara and included both his works and collection of knick-nacks.
My Drawing Room 2008, Bedroom Included - 2008
Naras work varys alot in size and material so it was awesome to see such a range of it displayed. Here are some of my favourites.
Light My Fire - 2001
Little Thinker - 2021
Stars - 2014
Mirror Ball Bon Dance Festival - 2012 and Recordings (レコード盤) - 2012
Wild One - 2024
Walking around the exhibition was a great experience, everywhere I looked was a different art work! There were also lots of cool people there which increased the overall vibe by like 10% even if I was more concious of my outfit suddenly. This exhibit was £10 for under 30 year olds and was way worth the money because there was lots to look at. I bought a badge will I will probs give to my friend. It's very cute though!
Tierdness had begun to hit me as a finished walking around the exhbit so I decided to get a train straightaway. I had to run for it and just my luck it was delayed anyway so there was no point LOL. Overall the day was really awesome! Yay for art and tasty food :-)
Today we went to the town? city? of Modena, famous for balsamic vinegar and being beautiful. the weather was incredible i think the best weather of the whole trip and what a perfect place to enjoy it!
the day started with a surprisingly leisurely walk to the station - i guess at this point we learnt our lesson about running lol. the train journey was very short, italian high speed railway is insane :0.
me and my mum had already planned to spend the day in modena whilst the rest of my family went to the ferrari museum in masenello which i couldn’t care less about lol.
the walk to the town centre was nice and quiet and we walked past the military academy which we had originally planned to go on a tour around but it was too booked. it’s very beautiful from the outside tho ^^
military academy
we then got seats at a cute cafe just outside the academy and sat in the sun. i had a macchiato and we shared a crema brioche (which is actually what north italy calls a cornetto, which means italian style croissant)
we then walked to a nearby church because we are both obsessed and it was really nicely decorated.
we then walked into the town square to get a map and saw the most beautiful clock tower ^o^ not sure if the detail will come up on my photo or not …
modena has a huge cathedral which we wanted to go into and the architecture is insane! it really reminds me of the game ‘monument valley’ or what i think gormenghast looks like.
such detailed rooftop!
my favourite saint is Saint Lucia or Lucy and she is very popular in this area so they are lots of paintings and statues of her! i’m not catholic but i do really like saints and stuff because it’s all very dramatic and beautiful hehe.
Santa Lucia
we went on a walk around town which was so sunny and peaceful. we also got lunch at some point and ate it in a park while i nearly fell asleep because there was a fountain nearby haha.
*natural white noise ~~*
i had a cheese and tomato toastie which was okay lol but i was ravenous and could of eaten anything at that point tbh.
we attempted to get into an old monastery but it was closed for renovations but look at the pretty house over the road!
pistachio green ~
my mum also bought some balsamic vinegar to bring home. we didn’t get the super expensive stuff because we still want to be able to use it lol. we met up with the rest of my family and went to a food market and looked round shops.
pretty book cover
we then left for the train and i got a lemon soda on the platform hehe :p
later on we went out to eat and i got a really mid vegan burger which will not have a photo because it was so mid. we went home and played poker though which was so fun!
i think modena is my favourite place i went to on this trip - the vibes were so chill and fancy. not to be a nerd but it reminded me a lot of the town (which is supposed to be paris?) in pokémon X and Y. would 10/10 go again.
(also posted on the wrong day but what the hell) today we went to florence which is a place i’ve always wanted to go to.
we were all so late to get the train and were literally sprinting down the street but we made it yay!
the train was fancy af and had a coffee and snack vending machine on board. i used my 2€ to finally try a ginseng coffee which is a popular drink in italy. it was amaze… like life changing deliciousness.
when we arrived in florence we stopped at a really cute coffee shop for some pastries. they were scrumptious and the shop was so fancy ~
me and my mum had bought tickets to go to the Ufuzzi Gallery for 12 so we walked around the city while we waited. it was super busy but really historic and beautiful.
the gallery has lots of very famous pieces of art in it , for example pieces by leonardo di vinci, botticelli and caravaggio. none of which i took pictures of lol. it was really great though.
this painting is maybe my favourite i saw.
actually this is by botticelli :0
we then went to get food and met up with everyone else. we had sandwiches and once again i think i made a weird choice. mine was cheesy af even though in this pic it just looks like lettuce.
looking out into the river in florence.
we then climbed to the top of this hill so we could see the whole city. the view is crazy!
we got gelato after this ^^ i got cherry flavour it was very good :p
the ‘duomo’ was closed unfortunately but it is still incredible from outside :)
we went back on the train and i got aubergine parmigiana for dinner - it was pretty good! i think vegetarian options are seriously lacking in variety in this town though lol
because i am now obsessed with ginseng coffee i got an instant version from the supermarket to take home ^^
hello sorry i forgot to do this yesterday but here is my day 4 blog! we got the train to the town of Ferrara today, it’s a very beautiful historic town that wasn’t too far to get to. There’s a huge medieval castle in the centre which i didn’t go inside but walked around the courtyard. my sister went in though and said it was really cool! we then went to get pizza to eat and it was pretty damn good :p
i wanted to go to the Alphonse Mucha exhibition. Mucha was an 19th century artist and illustrator from the Czech Republic and is most known for his ‘art nouveau style’. he is one of my favourite artists and one of my biggest art inspirations so i was so happy that an exhibition of his work was on!
outside of the gallery
Muchas art! i love the silver in this ^^
he made huge paintings for theatre shows and advertisments.
some stamps he designed!
a beautiful bottle
there was so much amazing art i didn’t photograph lol but it really didn’t do them justice. i got some postcards of my favourite pieces but even those don’t really express how good it looks in real life.
my shoe sole fell apart at this point and i had to buy some glue to stick it back together T-T i got lemon soda tho … the best drink ever!!
we then walked to the cathedral in the town centre. it was under refurbishment on the outside so i didn’t expect much but i was so taken aback. it is so so beautiful!
i spent lots of time at this chapel taking all the details in. the cathedral wasn’t busy apart from people having mass in the corner chapel. the sound of their chanting echoed throughout the building creating a eerie but really ethereal atmosphere.
there were also nuns leading the mass - i had never seen a nun before today lol. they are cool
my photos do not do the vibe justice …
we then had to speed walk back to the station + my broken shoe so we didn’t miss the train. we made it with like 1 min lmaoo…
we then went back home and i had tomato salad and vegan frankfurters with bread for tea :p scrumptious !
Back to this blog again I guess! I like blogger so I shouldn't leave it this long haha!! On Tuesday I had a pretty full day of doing fun stuff so I thought I'd blog about it ^.^
