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Weather: Rainy
Lunch: The real food company (sandwich stand) on Regent St.
Dinner: a cafe in theater district (Stockpot West Ltd.)
Stayed at Luna and Simone Hotel

In order to get our bearings in London, we took an “original bus tour”, which was highly recommended by Rick Stevens. We intentionally took a tour that had a live guide, but I had trouble understanding his not-so-BBC English. After going around the city, we got off the bus at Trafalgar Square, had a light lunch, and went to the National Gallery.

I decided to start at the high Renaissance, ignoring earlier paintings, because it is impossible to see everything, and also because I saw many fresco paintings in Italy three years ago.

da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael, Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Vel?zquez, Caravaggio…
It was like opening a heavy volume of art history textbook. The audio guide was wonderful, covering most of the artwork hanging from the wall, and 4 hours passed quickly. I did not have time to visit the gift shop before the gallery closed.

We had unimpressive dinner set near Trafalgar Square, and took a taxi back to the hotel.