UK, ho...
And so it was that on a blustery February morning I found myself catching a train from St. Albans to London's St. Pancras Station, on my way to meet Patrick for lunch.
The flight over here was typical American Airlines -blandly depressing, but with nothing specific to grumble at. (To be fair, the staff were doing their best with the limited resources at their disposal, and were in fact very pleasant). And I had three seats to myself, so I managed to get a few hours of decent sleep.
Then through UK immigration with only the most cursory of cavity searches, and Patrick met me at the gate to take me up to St. Albans by train. Called the folks from the airport - they were obviously very happy to hear from us so quickly.
Monday I headed back in to London and had Chinese for lunch with Patrick, and then wandered south from his Bond Street offices past Hyde Park and Mayfair. It truly is a breath-taking city for walking, with wonders both historical and modern to be discovered around every corner.
(Speaking of wonders, I passed a showroom selling the new Mini, so I stopped in to try it out for size. Like its predecessor, it's remarkably roomy inside, and could comfortably accomodate four of me. Not so the Porsches in the next-door shop, all of which were horribly cramped for a person of my dimensions).
Bought a mapbook from a stall in Piccadilly Circus, and continued on down to Trafalgar Square, St. James' Park, Chinatown and Soho. And then, just as I was starting to feel a bit footsore and thinking of heading home, I saw a sign with directions to the British Museum. And I thought, "Well, I'm not going to do all of that place in one day, so I might as well pop in and look at a few rooms now..."
Haven't been to the BM for five years, and it turns out that things have changed rather dramatically in that time. The front facade is still the same, and the entrance hall is unchanged, but when you pass through to the courtyard, you are now greeted by a jaw-dropping space of glass-roofed magnificence. The new vaulted cover between the wings is gorgeous and uplifting. And just as you're recovering from that, you walk through the first door on your left and "BAM!" - it's the Rosetta Stone, staring you right in the face. The single most important archaeological discovery in all of Egypt, the very symbol of the desire to understand past cultures, and it's sitting two feet in front of you.
It's quite a place.
Wandered in a daze through ancient Mesopotamia, and eventually headed up to what I had chosen as the day's objective - a special exhibition of Japanese swords. It was a beautiful showcase of the subject and largely new to me, and I enjoyed it immensely. The museum was closing by the time I got through with that display, so I left before I started to feel over-loaded by history.
Today was rather lighter - it was cold and my feet were sore, so I gave myself a haircut and settled in to watch "Anchorman" on DVD. There's a market in St. Albans tomorrow, so I think I'll stay in this neighbourhood and explore the town a bit more.
But for now, bed is calling...
The flight over here was typical American Airlines -blandly depressing, but with nothing specific to grumble at. (To be fair, the staff were doing their best with the limited resources at their disposal, and were in fact very pleasant). And I had three seats to myself, so I managed to get a few hours of decent sleep.
Then through UK immigration with only the most cursory of cavity searches, and Patrick met me at the gate to take me up to St. Albans by train. Called the folks from the airport - they were obviously very happy to hear from us so quickly.
Monday I headed back in to London and had Chinese for lunch with Patrick, and then wandered south from his Bond Street offices past Hyde Park and Mayfair. It truly is a breath-taking city for walking, with wonders both historical and modern to be discovered around every corner.
(Speaking of wonders, I passed a showroom selling the new Mini, so I stopped in to try it out for size. Like its predecessor, it's remarkably roomy inside, and could comfortably accomodate four of me. Not so the Porsches in the next-door shop, all of which were horribly cramped for a person of my dimensions).
Bought a mapbook from a stall in Piccadilly Circus, and continued on down to Trafalgar Square, St. James' Park, Chinatown and Soho. And then, just as I was starting to feel a bit footsore and thinking of heading home, I saw a sign with directions to the British Museum. And I thought, "Well, I'm not going to do all of that place in one day, so I might as well pop in and look at a few rooms now..."
Haven't been to the BM for five years, and it turns out that things have changed rather dramatically in that time. The front facade is still the same, and the entrance hall is unchanged, but when you pass through to the courtyard, you are now greeted by a jaw-dropping space of glass-roofed magnificence. The new vaulted cover between the wings is gorgeous and uplifting. And just as you're recovering from that, you walk through the first door on your left and "BAM!" - it's the Rosetta Stone, staring you right in the face. The single most important archaeological discovery in all of Egypt, the very symbol of the desire to understand past cultures, and it's sitting two feet in front of you.
It's quite a place.
Wandered in a daze through ancient Mesopotamia, and eventually headed up to what I had chosen as the day's objective - a special exhibition of Japanese swords. It was a beautiful showcase of the subject and largely new to me, and I enjoyed it immensely. The museum was closing by the time I got through with that display, so I left before I started to feel over-loaded by history.
Today was rather lighter - it was cold and my feet were sore, so I gave myself a haircut and settled in to watch "Anchorman" on DVD. There's a market in St. Albans tomorrow, so I think I'll stay in this neighbourhood and explore the town a bit more.
But for now, bed is calling...
posted by Sentinel at
6:37 AM
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