7/18/06
We got a slower start this morning. I got dressed more quickly than Laura, and headed down to the hotel coffee shop where I could get Internet access (at an incredibly exhorbitant price) and post some updates. My brief 15 minute account wouldn’t let me upload any photos, so readers will have to wait.
We took our first double-decker bus ride across town, then walked to the British Museum. Like yesterday’s museums, it was crowded with school groups. Apparently there is one more week of school here. We first started with the Egyptian sculpture. There was an immense crowd around the Rosetta Stone, but wee were able to view it. More impressive was the artisanship of the colossal statues. The nearby Assyrian and Messopotamian artwork wass equally impressive..
On the other side of the Grand Gallery, we found the Age of Enlightenment gallery, which was a wonderfully cool respite with a mix of examples from just about every historic period. Suitably cooled, we made it to the second level to see mummies, including that of Cleopatra. After awhile we reach sensory overload. The crowds were huge, and there was no AC. We had spent a couple of hours here, and it was time to go.
I was a bit disappointed. The last time I was here I only spent about 30 minutes in the museum, but I was able to see a Gutenburg Bible and a first edition of Handel’s Messiah (in addition to the mummies.) Either we missed them, or they are no longer on display. The Grand Gallery was built in 2000, and every thing else had been rearranged since that previous visit.
After the BM, we headed to Leicester Square to see if we could get theater tickets for the evening. We found the half-pirce kiosk, and decided on tickets for Donkey’s Year, a comedy by Michael Frayn. Tickets secured, we decided to take the Tube back to the room ad relax until to for the play.