Thursday, May 13, 2010

London: Day 2 (Part 2)

As much promised here is the second half of Day 2 in London. After we finished our wonderful time at the Tower of London, we headed to the tube to go north to the British Museum. For a free Museum it is well worth the time to make a stop here. It chronicles the history of Western civilization, including Egypt, Assyria, and Greece. 


The Rosetta Stone was unearthed in Egypt in 1799 and lead to significant advancements in decoding Egyptian writing. It contains a single inscription in three languages. The bottom portion is Greek, and the middle is medieval Egyptian. By comparing these two known languages, scientists were able to decipher the top inscription of hieroglyphics. This display was one of the most popular in the museum and was difficult to get up to the front to take a picture. 


Further down the same Gallery of Egyptian History, is a colossal granite statue of Rameses II from a temple in Thebes. The hole in his chest is believed to be caused in 1817 by Napoleon's expedition trying to remove the statue. 



As a bug hater, the idea of seeing a huge granite scarab wasn't something I ventured to in the museum. 


One of my favorite rooms in the museum contained the Nereid Monument, which was a temple/tomb with statues of the sea nymphs, Nereids. As I was looking at the astonishing details and pieces found at these ruins, my fellow travels were enjoying the room themselves...


They sat and complained that I was wearing them out! 


And my favorite photo from the British Museum.....


That's what he gets for complaining!

As we were  leaving the museum, we had our first rain drops fall on our vacation. We ran across the street to Starbucks to warm up with some tea and coffee. When it was safe that we wouldn't melt from the rain, we headed back down towards the Thames to see three of the most recognized sites in London. 


The London Eye. And no, we didn't go up it cause I'm not a fan of Ferris Wheels, especially extremely large ones. 



Big Ben. As you can see, it was 3 past 6, and we did get to faintly hear the bell toll over the sounds of motor vehicles, scooters, and emergency vehicles. 


The beautiful Westminster Abbey. We really wanted to go inside to see all the tombs and memorials, but it closes early and we were unable to make it on time. 



And to finish our day we strolled down St James Park to the Queen's residence, Buckingham Palace. The place was a complete chaotic news frenzy, as the new prime minister had been announced that day. 


The queen was not at home when we strolled by for a visit (the flag is at full staff). That's too bad, we would have brought the tea. 


And since it was mentioned that I seem to be more behind the camera than in front, one to please and show proof that I can be photographed (just don't like to!)


Enjoy! 

And here's a sneak peak of Day 3 events. If you can figure out where we went based on this photo I'll buy you a drink (or a burger) when I return to the states.


1 comment:

Frank_The_Tank said...

Me, Steve and Jerry guess Hampton Court Palace. We would all like FUDRUCKERS for lunch! When it is slow at Bike Barn we will look at anything on the internet for free food!