A very nice breakfast at the Arden Hotel had us ready for the 1:45 minute drive east to Cambridge.
Sunday is a perfect day to travel across central England as you miss the traffic heading into the numerous circle intersections. We arrived at The Varsity Hotel just before eleven and our room was not ready. So we checked our bags, had the car valeted and changed for a workout in their gym and spa.
Our room was ready at 12:30 so we went up to our 3rd floor room, changed and went back down to the spa for a sauna and jacuzzi.
Fully invigorated, we hit the streets to experience Cambridge.
We walked over to Fitzbillies bakery and ordered a sticky bun to go and headed down to the River Cam at the Silver Street bridge to sit, eat, people watch and view the Mathematical Bridge at Queens College.
Walked back towards the hotel and viewed Pembroke College, which dates back to 1347 and was open and free to walk about.
Much of the town center closes up at 5 pm so we decided to eat Indian food at The Curry King, just two blocks from the hotel. Very good, authentic cuisine,
Our first stop was the Ashmolean Museum, which was remarkably uncrowded at 9:30 am this Wednesday morning. We paid to see the special exhibit “Last Supper In Pompeii” and it was outstanding.
After a great British breakfast, hopped on the Tube at Tower Hill and headed for the South Kensington station. Arrived at the Victoria & Albert Museum as it opened at 10.
Set out at 9 am across Tower Bridge and experienced South Bank.
Borough Market is a must visit and it delivered delicious stall after stall of every cheese, meat, vegetable and savory or sweet foods.
We then continued along the Thames for a quick view of Shakespeare’s Globe, followed by a tour of the Tate Modern.
Headed north to Buckingham Palace before walking through St. James Park to the National Gallery.
Édouard Manet was a provocateur and a dandy, the Impressionist generation’s great painter of modern Paris. This first-ever exhibition to explore the last years of Manet’s short life and career reveals a fresh and surprisingly intimate aspect of this celebrated artist’s work. Stylish portraits, 
luscious still lifes, delicate pastels and watercolors, and vivid café and garden scenes convey Manet’s elegant social world and reveal his growing fascination with fashion, flowers, and his view of the parisienne—a feminine embodiment of modern life in all its particular, fleeting beauty.
Revere’s place in history was cemented by 
The exhibition was organized by the 
Although Blake was considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, he is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work. His paintings and poetry have been characterised as part of the Romantic movement and as “Pre-Romantic”. A committed Christian who was hostile to the Church of England (indeed, to almost all forms of organised religion), Blake was influenced by the ideals and ambitions of the French and American Revolutions.
Established in 1831, the Gorham Manufacturing Company adeptly coupled art and industry, rising to become an industry leader of stylistic and technological achievement in America and around the world. It produced public presentation pieces and one-of-a-kind showstoppers for important occasions, as well as tableware for everyday use. Its works trace a narrative arc not only of great design but also of American ambitions. In this volume, insightful essays are accompanied by gorgeous new photography of splendid silver pieces along with a wealth of archival images, design drawings, casting patterns, and company records that reveal a rich heritage of a giant in decorative arts and silver manufacturing.
This focused installation features pastels by four artists whose work was shown in the Impressionist exhibitions: Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Eva Gonzalès, and Berthe Morisot. Their subjects range from scenes of modern life, such as ballet performers and a woman working in a hat shop, to depictions of intimate moments of bathing and women with children.
Pastel, a medium used to draw on paper or, less often, on canvas, is made by combining dry pigment with a sticky binder. Once artists have applied the pastel to the surface, they can either blend it, leave their markings visible, or layer different colors to create texture and tone. Pastel portraits had previously gained popularity in France and England in the 18th century, but fell out of fashion with critics when pastel was deemed too feminine; not only was it used by women artists, but it had a powdery consistency similar to women’s makeup. The Impressionists rejected this bias and instead embraced the medium’s ability to impart immediacy, boldness, and radiance.
The Huntington’s 
Boomers Daily 