It's the Best Day EVER!

George Eliot (Mary Ann Cross (née Evans))
Credit: © National Portrait Gallery, London
Artist: François D'Albert Durade

What a fabulous day in jolly old London. The heatwave promises to break; Kate is in labor; and I had two George Eliot sightings in the space of a few hours!

We went to Westminster Abbey first and I was so enthralled with the place that I totally forgot to look for "Poets' Corner" until Miguel, one of my classmates, pointed out George Eliot's memorial on the floor. Thank you, Miguel! As you may recall from one of my earlier posts, George Eliot is actually buried at Highgate Cemetery and could only get an honorable mention at Westminster Abbey because she was a dissenter.

I LOVED the Westminster neighborhood. The Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister's residence, and Big Ben had my head almost swiveling off my neck. I wanted to see a dude in a white wig but somehow they eluded me. If I were to live and work in London, it would be in this neighborhood. Regal, cultured, learned, and super cool!

Next stop was the National Portrait Gallery. I almost had a heart attack once inside because I asked for directions to George Eliot's portrait (the one shown above) and the attendant told me the portrait had been removed from the gallery and taken to the archives. Another attendant saw me clutching my chest and intervened: the portrait was on the First Floor Room 24. I ran at the speed of light (not really) to that location and the clouds parted and the angels sang and...I couldn't stop grinning like an idiot. There she was. I had come so far and she didn't disappoint.


My sincere thanks to the the National Portrait Gallery (National Portrait Gallery)
for granting me a license to reproduce George Eliot's portrait in my blog.