Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, & the Tate Modern | London, England

On day 4 it was threatening to rain all day so we visited the Tate Britain, Harrods, British Library, and the Tate Modern.

The Tate Britain has a ton of works and ephemera from J.M.W. Turner. However, they were mainly his works with figures (at least those were the pieces on view when we visited), not the dramatic landscapes and seascapes I was hoping to see. Those Turner paintings are on view at the National Gallery. Nonetheless, Tate Britain has some incredible paintings by John Singer Sargent as well as literary/romance/Pre-Raphaelite works. Those pieces were installed in the salon style so some of them were difficult to see well.

J.M.W. Turner, Self-Portrait, ca. 1799

J.M.W. Turner, Colour Trials, ca. 1775-1851

Mosaic floor

John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Carl Meyer and Her Children, 1896

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6

John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott, 1888

John Singer Sargent, Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889

Henry Raeburn, Lieut-Colonel Bryce McMurdo, ca. 1800-10

Daniel Mytens, Portrait of James Hamilton, Earl of Aaran, Later 3rd Marquis and 1st Duke of Hamilton, Aged 17, 1623

Those shoes!

J.M.W. Turner, Interior of Forge: Making Anchors, 1796-7

After we finished exploring Tate Britain, we went back to Harrods for lunch and some shopping. I had the same ham and gruyere sandwich as I did on our previous visit (it is soo good!!) with fresh strawberry, pomegranite, and pineapple juice (amazing!) and a brownie cupcake (just okay).

We shopped in the women's dresses, hats, jewelry, books and cards, and toy departments. The employees in the hat department were snooty but the employees in the toy department were extremely friendly. Also, Harrods has a cool book department! They have tons of interesting and affordable books about London including a fantastic London pop-up book which is one of my favorite souvenirs from our trip.

Storefront window

It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission to take a picture in the hat department

You can buy your own British army in the toy department!

Next we visited the British Library and explored their Treasure Room. I thought the library was in this highly ornate and impressive looking building, but it's not lol. Go around the corner and it is in a rather ordinary unassuming building. But don't let that stop you from going inside.

If you might be a book nerd in any way, shape, or form VISIT THE TREASURE ROOM!!! It has an amazing assortment of significant books and documents from Leonardy da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo, Jane Austen (they have her writing desk!), Charolette Bronte, Bach, The Beatles, illuminated manuscripts, awesome maps, and the Magna Carta. It is amazing and absolutely worth a visit. The only let down is they do not allow photography in the Treasure Room :(

NOT the British Library

Millennium Bridge & The Shard

St. Pauls' Cathedral

Because the Tate Modern is open late on Friday nights, we decided to check it off our list as well. Honestly, I felt that I had to visit this museum because of its historical significance in the museum world. Other museum professionals warned me before our trip that the Tate Modern's collection is not impressive. They were correct. There have a few pieces that you will recognize and/or learned about in art history classes, but overall I thought their collection was lacking. Additionally, modern and contemporary art are not my favorite area of art history so we went through this museum quickly.

We ate dinner at their cafe. I got a beef burger (hamburger for the Americans) that wasn't bad. However, it wasn't nearly as good as the hamburgers you get in Oklahoma. Overall, if you have several museums on your list to visit in London and you need to cut one, I would recommend not visiting the Tate Modern. Also, don't go to London looking for an amazing hamburger :) .