London : The National Gallery, A Treasure Trove of Artworks

11th July 2011. Written by Xin Li.
London, United Kingdom.
For some, it is a boring place to be, but for a person like me, this is heaven. The National Gallery, located next to the famed (and crowded) Trafalgar Square is a treasure trove of artworks.
Coming face to face with the works that you always see in the textbooks and powerpoint slides is a totally different experience. You could observe the brush strokes, the depth, the real scale….it makes me appreciate these works even more.

The National Gallery in London (Free Admission! but No Photography Allowed!) holds a sizable collection of artworks by many famous artists from the Medieval and Renaissance to the Romanticists and Impressionists.

Well-known pieces such as Sunflowers by Van Gogh (1888), The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck (1434) and The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the Younger (1533) can be found in the grand gallery rooms of the National Gallery.

I do not wish to be a spoiler here and leave to you to travel there someday and experience the works yourself. ;)

NATIONAL GALLERY CAFE
Located within the compounds of the gallery is a café run by Peyton and Byrne, offering pastries, breads, cakes, tarts as well as light snacks and meals for museum goers or a the tired tourist at Trafalgar Square.

Prices are rather steep here but one dines more for convenience and ambience especially if you are planning to spend a great deal of time here in the National Gallery, savoring each and every artwork of the past millennium.

We had the Salmon Quiche. Potato Salad, Greek Yogurt and a Salmon Ceviche with Capers (as well as a bottle of mineral water). This adds up to 10.90 GBP for the two of us.

The Salmon Ceviche with Capers was the most expensive, with a price tag of 4.90 GBP (Roughly 9-10 SGD). It was also the most miserable item for the whole trip in London, cold, dry, tough, salty and nothing close to appetizing. Monsieur Rene would probably asked, “What died here?”

The Salmon Quiche on the other hand, was tasty and quite creamy and the Greek Yogurt, served with honey was a mix of nectarine and sour flavors. Potato Salad was okay.

The National Gallery
Opening hours:
Daily 10am – 6pm, Fridays 10am – 9pm

Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Closed all day 1 January and 24-26 December.