Piccadilly | Mama Cormier

…a gem in Piccadilly Circus

After seeing the Victor Hugo show we made our way to the first floor to check out the main permanent collection. We were blown away when we rounded the corner and came across two giant murals on opposite sides of the room.

One was a replica of the Last Supper.

I had no idea that the original painted by Leonardo da Vinci had deteriorated very quickly and many of the features seen in the replica are no longer visible on the original. Several of da Vinci’s students painted the replica roughly 20 years after the original was completed.

These threes paintings are replicas of Rafael’s work created by Sir James Thornhill, almost 200 years after the originals were made.

The rest of the gallery housed everything from classical to contemporary sculptures and paintings.

*Futuristic work station installation made with aluminum*

We ended our day with a lovely soup from the RA café.

…the bus took 29 stops before we arrived at our destination

By the time we arrived in Piccadilly we needed a coffee. We knew that we were going to a pay a premium price going into the bistro that we chose but we didn’t care. We just wanted a comfortable place to sit, a good cup of coffee and a small treat. We thoroughly enjoyed our coffees and Kevin said that his pain de raisin was the best one he ever had. I checked the prices for the same thing in the art gallery coffee shop and they were very similar. In fact coffee everywhere in London runs about £4 or more in coffee shops.

After being thoroughly caffeinated we headed out to find the Royal Academy of Art. We walked too far and passed some very pricey shops but happened to stumble upon a gallery shop featuring David Hockney. Kevin and I love his work but a single print sells for £80,000.