I'm going to be perfectly honest. I had a lovely day, a wonderful meal, drank a little too much wine, and I'd love nothing better than to go to bed right now because it's 12:40AM and I'm tired and I have a full day tomorrow. But there's this darn blog. . . ! So instead I'm going to spend at least an hour cranking out an entry. (Do you sense that I'll be happy to be done with it?!)

Anyway, today I took a train out to West Dulwich and then walked to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, which has been on my list from the beginning. I was excited to see it because The Hyde loaned a Winslow Homer painting for an exhibition here a couple of years ago (I mistakenly thought it was Hassam's Geraniums when I mentioned it in an earlier blog entry), and also because Sir John Soane designed the building, and also because they have some Rubens and Rembrandts and van Dycks and Gainsboroughs and many, many more artists' paintings in their permanent collection. They also had a special exhibition, The Age of Enchantment: Beardsley, Dulac and their Contemporaries 1890-1930 about the Golden Age of illustration. Did you know that Aubrey Beardsley died at the age of 25? Just think of how much more he could have produced had he lived longer. This exhibition had 145 pieces by artists with whom I was familiar as well as new artists, and it was much more interesting than I was expecting. The works were displayed in such a way that you could get up very close to most of them, many of them very detailed pen and ink drawings, or watercolours. In addition to Beardsley, the artists who were represented here included Kay Nielsen, Laurence Housman, Charles Ricketts, Edmund Dulac, Sidney Sime, Harry Clarke, Jessie King, Annie French, Arthur Rackham, Charles Robinson, Willy Pogany, Alastair, Daisy Makeig-Jones, and the twins Charles Maurice Detmold and Edward Julius Detmold.

I met my friend Jen in their nice little cafe where we had a leisurely lunch. Among other things, we talked through my need to complete my list, my fears that I won't have the opportunity to get back here very soon, and Jen convinced me that of course I'll get back and that I should just enjoy my last week here, and do fun things. I suddenly got what she was saying! With the visit to Dulwich, I've basically covered all of the most important items on my list. I'm not going to finish and IT'S OKAY. It was very liberating. Thank you, Jen, for that. I needed someone to point the obvious out to me.

When I went to get my coat to leave, I discovered a little chapel attached to the museum that hadn't been open earlier. It was called Christ's Chapel and I just had to go in and have a look. We then walked to the North Dulwich train station, stopping in some little shops along the way, and parted company. What a nice little village...so different from London and yet so close. Jen also mentioned how nice York is, and I think I may just do a day trip there next week.

Home at 5:30. Phyllis, visiting from Skidmore, came over for wine and cheese and the three of us went to dinner at a wonderful little Italian restaurant, Timo, down 3/4 of a mile on the High Street. I only wish we had discovered it sooner. (I think we might even have closed the place!)

Tomorrow we had planned to go to Hampton Court Palace, but after talking to Jen I decided it could wait. Then at dinner we found out that Phyllis was headed out of town in the morning to visit Darwin's house and decided she needed company. We made plans to meet her at King's Cross station. And so it goes.

It's after 1:30, and I'm off to bed. 'Night all. Sweet dreams.

And wedding congratulations to Thomas and Annie!