Travel – Page 6 – The Courtney Diaries

London Travel

Last Weekend in Rewind

June 14, 2014

Last Friday we had a pretty easy day at the Institute; all we had planned for the day was visiting Sotheby’s ‘Modern & Post-War British Art’ auction preview in the morning. I enjoyed this sale much more than the Russian Art preview we visited the week before but unfortunately the auction itself, which we watched later this week, was not very successful despite the various big names within the sale. I did end up buying a sale catalogue as a souvenir though!

After our tour, I decided to walk around the area to better acquaint myself and ended up stumbling upon Green Park which I had no idea was anywhere nearby. I grabbed food from a takeaway place and had a nice little picnic in the park, eating while I read my sales catalogue.

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London Travel

Chilling in Chichester

June 11, 2014

Last Thursday, we met up in front of the Institute for our drive down to southern England, Chichester to be specific. We all piled into a coach bus and made the (never-ending) two hour journey south. Chichester is actually quite cute and reminded me a lot of the quiet streets of Bath, England, which I visited last fall with the Worrell House.

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Eat & Drink London Restaurants Travel

How many people can say that they’ve eaten breakfast in a Victorian-era urinal??

June 7, 2014

On Wednesday morning before class, I decided that I wanted to grab breakfast from this coffee shop that I had read about online but couldn’t quite wrap my head around—The Attendant. Built in 1890 as a Victorian bathhouse, The Attendant now labels itself as “Europe’s most unique espresso & food bar spaces,” so obviously I had to experience it for myself (http://www.colourtesting.co.uk/attendant/). I mean just the thought of eating in a converted toilet was so out there that I couldn’t really fathom how it’s become so popular. The restaurant is on Foley Street, a short walk from the Goodge Street station, and was pretty easy to find. My first impression was of the ornate ironwork leading down to the interior which was quite stunning.

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Eat & Drink London Restaurants Travel

I died and went to burger heaven this weekend

June 5, 2014

After my night in on Friday, I was ready to head out on Saturday morning bright and early. I knew I wanted to visit a museum and at the last minute I decided that the National Gallery would be a wonderful place to spend the next few hours. While it was cloudy when I left Earl’s Court, it ended up being beautiful when I stepped out of the Piccadilly Circus station. I admit that I got a little lost trying to find the museum but I did somehow manage to find my way.

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Eat & Drink London Travel

Basically a post about all of the food I’ve eaten in the past two days

May 31, 2014

Sorry for the lack of posts; these past few days have been pretty hectic! On Thursday, we had a group visit to the British Museum where we had a look at the most popular items including the Rosetta Stone and Elgin’s Marbles (aka the Parthenon Gallery). While interesting, I visited the museum multiple times in the fall and while these objects are fascinating to see and learn about, there are plenty of other equally interesting objects that are also housed in the museum. Despite this I really enjoyed our tour because it was led by a woman who appraises ancient objects for the British Museum and usually travels and works on site where these items are found, such as Egypt or Iran.

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London Travel

Queen for a Day

May 28, 2014

Yesterday marked by first day at Sotheby’s!! I arrived to Bloomsbury slightly before 9:30 and made myself comfortable in our primary meeting room. We were welcomed to the Institute by the Deputy Director, Jonathon Woolfson, and were given a tour of the premises. Seminars throughout the day included ‘Introduction to the Art Market,’ ‘Introduction to the Auction Process’ and ‘Introduction to Buying Art.’ My favorite seminar of the day was definitely the one about how Sotheby’s runs a typical auction; I never realized how much work has to go into planning an auction that may only last a few hours! One of my professors, Angus Haldane, is an art dealer so it was also interesting getting to hear his perspective as an integral part of this ever-changing art market. Although I was beyond exhausted after my first day, I had such a fun time meeting people from all over the world and getting a peek into the world of fine art.

“First day at Sotheby’s! #100happydays 20/100 at Sotheby’s Institute of Art“

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