Museum Adventures

So we got back from Spain the night before really late. I didn't get into my room until after 2 am and neither did Mom. This led to us meeting up at around 9. If it was sunny, we were going to go to the London Eye. If it was cloudy, we would head to the British Museum. Well, you can guess that it was cloudy (and still pretty cold) so we headed over to the British Museum.

We took the bus from my flat and rode it all the way to King's Cross so that I could show my mom St. Pancras Station (the gingerbread Neo-Gothic building) and St. Pancras Parish Church (the church that looks like a Greek temple with a spire). We stopped at the British Library because it was on the way and because it is really cool. Mom especially liked the Illuminated Manuscripts and Bibles from the Middle Ages. Then we got to the British Museum. First, we went to the Celtic and Roman British area. For those that don't know, in about 70 AD I think, the Roman Empire stretched all the way to Britain and that's when Hadrian's Wall (which I don't think I will get a chance to see) was built in Northern England. Anyway, most of the artifacts here were actually from the Anglo-Saxons which were groups of people from present day Germany and Denmark who sailed here and took over the Romans in 300 AD or so. They were here until 1000 AD when the Normans from France invaded. That's an incredibly short version of British history. So we saw a bunch of stuff from those three groups in the first area we went to. One of the most famous is some stuff from an Anglo-Saxon ship that was buried. Inside was a bunch of armor among other things. My favorite thing (and I think Mom's too) was the chess pieces they had (picture 1). They were carved out of wood and really awesome. I like how the King looks bug-eyed. We also saw some things from around the same time in Ireland.

We continued on and walked through a bunch more galleries that I had never been in (haven't made the tours of them yet). Like the Early Iraq and Early Roman and stuff. We saw a bunch of black and red-figure pots from Greece and Rome (picture 2 of Medusa, the snake headed lady). Mom really liked these. We also walked through the Greek/Roman Gallery where they had artifacts presented by daily activities, like farming and bathing and children. It was really interesting. In the Islamic Art gallery the glass pots that I really liked weren't there anymore but some new ones were which I also liked a lot. Mom really enjoyed some paintings from Iran (picture 3). They are really usual because just about all Islamic Art never represents humans. We sat down on a bench and ate lunch (PBJ sandwiches). We continued on to the North American Indian gallery where Mom saw something surprising. She did a paper about a guy who makes bowl like the Indians used to do but with contemporary themes (picture 4). I can't remember his name but she was really happy to see it. We looked at the Mezo-American Gallery again and I took a picture of the Turquoise Two-Headed Snake that is very famous. It is really beautiful (picture 5). We left shortly thereafter and walked down to a half-timbered house that survived the Great Fire of 1666 (picture 6). It was built around 1550. Very cool looking. It was kind of a mistake to do this because we were both incredibly tired by this time (from getting back so late) and the walking and waiting buses really drained all of our energy (at least it did for me). Plus it was cold and rainy. While we waited for the bus, we stopped in a Marks & Spencer shop and got some food. We both got deli sandwiches and a can of soup to eat for dinner.

We got to my flat after waiting forever on Oxford Street for a bus. We ate dinner and hung out some more. I walked Mom back to her hotel which, for lack of a better term, sucked. It was in a kind of shady area and her room was probably the smallest room I have ever seen. For those who saw "the bachelor pad" at Dad's apartment, it was about that small. You had to shuffle sideways between the bed and wall. Mom said she could barely get dressed in the bathroom after her shower because there was hardly enough room to bend over. Wow, what a place. I felt bad for leaving her there but we didn't have any other options. But, on the bright side, it was cheap (for London). I walked back to my flat and basically went to bed. I didn't fall asleep right away because I kept thinking about Mom leaving. I wasn't looking forward to it.