Various attractions

In addition to the British Library (see previous posts), I have continued to do my tourist duty to the city; I purchased an all-day ticket for one of the "hop on, hop off" buses. Except for the unfortunate timing of when I activated it (the coldest day so far this trip), the service was unexceptional. I "hopped on" and "hopped off". These buses are the double-decker model, with the top sheared off, to facilitate picture taking. Unfortunately, they also facilitate the inroads of rain and wind. Ah well. They are supplied with live, English-speaking guides, who don't answer questions, but have a very adequate patter. Trafalgar (again), Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square, various arches, statues, monuments, and bridges, the Tower (again), Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. I got off for my first stop at Westminster. Of course, I very much wished to visit there. But also, I feared if I stayed on the bus any longer, I might develop frostbite in my fingers...

More later. Time to go see if my next batch of books has arrived...

So London goes from blue skies to weeping in the space of a couple of hours. Now it feels like England...

I did go back to the British Museum on another weepy day; this time armed with a list of some of the treasures I missed last time. My legs still hurt a lot, but now I have seen the Sutton Hoo ship burial, the Lewis Chess set, the turquoise mosaics, and last but not least the "Enlightenment" room. I went through that one a couple of times. Now there is the Loot of Ages! Tucked away in one of the myriad cabinets, I found the paraphernalia of Dr. Dee. Ooooh. Including his crystal scrying ball and everything. Awesome! This is one of the BM's "Theme" rooms. The cabinets on the wall alternated displaying the collection with books, books and more books. The floor cabinets were interspersed with statues. A bit cluttered, but it almost looked like some eccentric collector's library from the Age of Enlightenment. I could live with it. There was a "merman" mummy. Enlightened and credulous. I found yet more wonderful bits of jewelery. One of my favorites was a "Jeweler's Horde"; a jeweler's stash of materials from Roman times, including the silver scrap of discarded jewelery that would be melted down again.

Westminster is the largest working Catholic church in the country. I always feel a bit strange walking on graves. Even stranger when the graves are those of T.S. Elliott, Ben Jonson, and their ilk. I'm glad I went, though! What a grand building.

That day (the coldest I've been so far) ended with a boat ride on the Thames. Great view, punctuated by big, fat, cold rain drops...