Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, 221b Baker Street.

For the Wednesday and Thursday of my Tourist Week I decided to visit the Trafalgar Square- with its bronze lions, and its 18 foot statue of Nelson on top of a pillar, The National Gallery- home to many works of arts by Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Monet, Manet, and my new favorite artist - Claude Laurent, And 221B Baker Street- what they claim is the most famous address in England, being the home to the fictional character Sherlock Holmes and his best friend Dr. Watson.

Trafalgar Square is one of the most visited places in the world. There are two fountains, large statues, and a column on top of which stands an 18 foot tall statue of Admiral Nelson, and at the base is guarded by 4 bronze lions. The sun decided to show itself for about a half an hour that day, just long enough to take some amazing pictures of the square before heading inside to the National Gallery.

Inside the National Gallery I opted to wander by myself instead of partake in a audio tour, or even take a map of where certain artists were. I find it must more interesting to walk into a room and find the first piece of art that catches your eye, and then go to it. Because I was in an art museum that showcased quite a bit of Renaissance art there were two main themes with the art- Jesus and Greek/Roman Mythology. For those of you who know me well, you'll understand what I mean when I say that the art that caught my eye 90% of the time had nothing to do with Christ. Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne caught my eye for it's vibrant colors and beautiful imagery of the moment when Bacchus gives Ariadne her own constellation in the sky. Rubens painted The Judgement of Paris more than once, and both views on display depicted the goddesses in different ways, the anger on Hera's face, or the uncomfortable feeling Athena is going though, being without her armor. My absolute favorite had to be Claude (Laurent)'s paintings. Being mainly a landscape painter, he paints these beautiful landscapes and adds in Mythology people. My two favorites being Landscape with Psyche outside the Palace of Cupid, and Landscape with Narcissus and Echo. I was able to see one Da Vinci- as the National Gallery's Virgin of the Rocks was not on display it was a sketch called the Leonardo Cartoon - because it was drawn and not painted.

221b Baker Street was a whole different experience. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes, Baker Street did not extend as far as 221b. Years later when the street grew larger and it came time to make this address, it was only appropriate to make it into a museum that matched Doyle's description to the T. The first two floors are just as one would imagine from reading the books, a small sitting room stuffed with a dinner table, Holmes' desk, Holmes' chemistry table, a violin, and all sort of knickknacks from his adventures. His bedroom is small and his hats and traveling chemistry set lay out on his bed, ready for his next case. Watson's room is upstairs and as we can all expect is a great deal tidier than Holmes'. The best part about 221b is the third floor, where there are wax statues of various people and things from the Holmes' stories - the Hound of the Bakervilles, the picture of Irene Adler and the King of Bohemia from A Scandal in Bohemia a full size statue of Professor Moriarty- Holmes' arch enemy, even Mr. Jabez Wilson, copying the Encyclopedia from my favorite story The Redheaded League. IT really is a must see for any body who enjoys the greatest detective in history.