![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkuKYzALMJXj1znl48HIkFzy9GgdJj9wFACWAELXjVnHTwe2xroQtIkdz-tbyHI4FDJgxwD2tZY76Ba-JQatw_Gc9AzLW6UR1t8Fy1R5Eb1Gdpp_drl5ik42g4LLjzlT9bdckVZl_l_Yo/s400/Rain.jpg)
....by a visit to Dulwich Picture Gallery, which has the triple merits of some pretty good pictures, a more than half-decent tea room, and - most important of all, in this, Flaming June, a rainproof roof! The combination of Soane's design and the permanent collection at Dulwich is an attractive proposi
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tion at any time - particularly the subterranean gloom of the mausoleum - but at the moment there's the additional pull of a temporary exhibition of self-portraits over the ages on loan from the Uffizi, where they normally hang in the rarely-open Vasari Corridor which runs between the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace.
My exp
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ectations were not high, as these are pictures that are rarely on view to the public, and generally when a public gallery leaves stuff hidden from sight in this way you find there's a good reason for it! In this instance, not so. Inevitably, there was some duff stuff in there - but the Rembrandt and Velasquez portraits were splendid, and I even liked the self-portrait by Tintoretto (not normally one of my favourites). Best of all for me , though, was the simple clarity of Filippino Lippi's portrait, which is the first thing to greet you on entering the exhibition - it avoids all the cloying mannerism that his work so often displayed when he was working for others.
Thence to tea. From where we had a good view of the rain-soaked lawns in front of the main building, and could watch in comfort as the skies opened yet again. While the Technica
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l Department indulged in Belgian Chocolate Cake - which, in fact, he then said was no better than 'alright' - Sarah and I chowed down on Scones and Clotted Cream and Strawberry Jam. What is it about that combination that is quite so perfect? Whoever first dreamed it up was quite clearly a genius! Never has it been bettered, in my experience, than at the Royal Castle Hotel on the harbour front in Dartmouth..........but even on a rainy Saturday afternoon just off London's South Circular, it ain't half bad!
I see that today Pisa is sunny and 30 degrees C! Despite the horror of Gatwick Airport and British Airways as part of the package, I can't wait to get back there on Wednesday!
Tonights Dinner:
Artichokes (I know - second time in one week; the Technical Department is particularly keen on them, though, and the season is short)
Grilled Duck Breast, with Zucchini in Vinegar and Cinnamon
Baked Apples, stuffed with Ratafias and Sultanas.
2 comments:
Good reasons to visit Dulwich Picture Gallery, which I haven't since the restoration / extension / can't quite remember what they were doing.
Gatwick? Heathrow? Try the overnight train ... cheap, romantic, blah blah, and all the details you need to get going are on seat61.com, a very ace blog. Few things to beat transcontinental trains, nothing worse than short-haul flying.
And by the way, I'm with the Technical Department - artichokes three times a week at this time of year!
Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com
I think they were building the slightly mis-named Glass Cloister, which incorporates the not-half-bad tea room...
Thoroughly agree about transcontinental trains and the horror of short-haul flying - but we do the journey both ways every fortnight, so the overnight journeys would be impractically time-consuming..
THREE times a week? I think I won't pass that one on; it might raise expectations!
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