Lovely and Warm

Wendesday -- I had to make a decision, do I go to Buckingham Palace on the only day when the Queen's Gallery and some other museum would be open, or do I skip the whole Changing of the Guards thing and do other stuff?

By this point I realized that there was no way I'd be able to fit in everything I wanted to do without rushing all over and not enjoying any of it. So, wisely I think, I decided to pass on the Queen and do other stuff. This would be the day for the British Libray and the British Museum. The Museum opened around 10 while the Library opened at 9 or 9:30 am, so it was the Library first and off to the Museum. King's Cross tube/train station is nearest to the Library, so I took a quick look around for platform 9 3/4 after I got of the tube -- of course it's not there, platforms 9 and 10 aren't even next to each other, but still worth checking out, and something I promised a coworker I would do.

I got there a little before it opened, so I spent enough time outside the Library to realize that the conference center adjacent was shaped like an ocean liner -- porthole shaped windows and all. The Library has a small gallery with amazing documents (think National Archives and Library of Congress combined) -- various copies of the Magna Carta, the Lindesfarne Gospells, Shakespeare's first folio, and so many other rare documents, I can't even remember them all. I need to go back and write them all down. Incredible stuff! It's definitely worth seeing at least one real illuminated page if you've ever seen a photograph of one and thought it beautiful. Even those reproductions that make the gold shimmery and metalic don't really, can't really duplicate the effect of gold leaf. Stunning!

Next I was off to the British Museum. I don't know why, but I seemed to have a fairly hard time finding my way there, as well as other places throughout the trip. I think I didn't spend quite enough time orienting myself and I'd go off in slightly the wrong direction. So given that, I entered the museum from the back and went up to the first floor and wandered around a lot searching for the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. Of course I didn't find them, they were on the ground floor. Instead I went through rooms of smaller Egyptian, Roman, and Greek artifacts.

In the Roman rooms I was able to make the connection between classical ceramic and silver forms and what Europeans and Americans made in the 18th century. Before this I was constantly reading that Wedgewood was inspired by classical forms. Only now did it strike me that I'd never really seen what inspired him. Classical architecture, I had a concept of what that was. Classical everyday objects not so much.

It was also amazing to see rooms full of greek vases -- the terra cotta and black ones. Absoultely beautiful! But also kind of overwhelming. A huge room full of vases and plates in sterile white cases.

After looking at all of that and the medieval rooms -- including thing from Suton Hoo which I'd been dying to see, I asked a guard where I could find the Rosetta Stone, and found my way downstairs. Realised it was around noon by that time and went out to find some food. I navigated the streets succesfully to Wagamama, a great little asian restaurant that all my tour books mentioned. Yummy food and a modern atmosphere. Highly recommened. They apparently have a cook book out, so I need to search for that. Food was excelent, which was good, because this was one of my major splurges.

After eating, I went back and explored the ground floor. Saw the rosetta stone (which is HUGE) and the Elgin marbles (which are diplomatically not labled as such) as well as all the other large scale Egyptian and Greek sculpture on display.

The British Museum was kind of a mixed bag for me -- lots of very cool stuff, but NOT much context, kind of left me cold. It remind me a lot of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. It seems to be in the process of updating a lot of it's displays. About 3/4 of the displays seemed like they were assembled in the 1960's and hadn't been touched since.

There was one memorable exhibit -- a display of comparative medicinal practices. In the very center of this exhibit, a contemporary piece of art -- two pieces of fabric laid out next to each other all the way down the center of the room. Each piece represented the medical history of a husband and a wife. Sewn into the fabric was the medication each took over the course of their lives. Running along side was a timeline of the person's life, both medical and significant life events recorded and pictures and any medical paraphenelial (replacement hip, UID, nicotine gum, etc.) that couldn't be sewn into the cloth laid out next to it. It was a short-hand medicial and social biography of this couple.

After this, I headed to the south bank of the Thames and found the London Eye (huge Ferris Wheel built for the milenium celebration). While there didn't appear to be much of a line, I decided against riding it. Mostly because turns very slowly and I had other things I wanted to do and it was getting late. I headed over to the British Film Institute's IMAX, hoping that Harry Potter woould be showing and I'd get to see it on the big screen. Alas, it was not. Instead they were rerunning Polar Express and showing two nature films, which I'm sure would be cool, but I could easily see in D.C.

I walked around the river side for a while until I found the Jubalie Bridge to cross back over. I could see Cleopatra's Needle from the bridge and made my way to it, then walked along the north bank for a while. Eventually it was too dark and cold to keep walking, so I headed back to my neighboorhood. The idea of seeing Harry Potter stayed in my head ever since I'd considered it earlier in the day, so I stopped by the theater down the street and bought a ticket.

Since this post is long enough, I'll spare you my thoughts after a second viewing of the movie, save that for another post. That was pretty much it for that day, just went home, ate, and fell asleep.