It was once said that the sun never sets on the British Empire, and when you've got that much of the world under your dominion, it's pretty easy to amass a seriously impressive collection of artifacts. This collection is the British Museum, and it stands as an awe inspiring testament to the wealth and power of the British Empire from the 1800s to 1947, and its prominence as a world class collection following. We spent most of the day perusing the unbelievable collection of stuff from Greece, Rome, Assyria, China, Egypt, Africa, India, and beyond. The collections of Egyptian statues and mummies, Grecian marbles, and Assyrian temple reliefs are beyond compare, and it is no wonder the Greek government perpetually cries foul over the fact that they have two of the seven wonders of the world (statues from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the carvings from the Parthenon). While it is amazing to see all of these artifacts all together, it does come with the sad realization that these comprise the cultural heritage of many people, who had some of their most stunning archaeological sites stripped bare to create this place. Even without the massive statues, their collection still contains amazing pieces from Roman Britain, including most of the artifacts depicted in my old Latin textbooks. I'll attach a few pictures, but I can't post everything, much like we couldn't actually see everything.
After that, we went to the Princess Louise tavern. This dates from the 1800s, and has the most ornate bar interior I have ever seen. More importantly, it serves Samuel Smith's beer for incredibly reasonable (for London) prices. Having added another beer to the review list, we went to a show in the West End called Handbagged, which was about the relationship between Margaret Thatcher & the queen. It was not exactly a flattering portrayal of her. Tomorrow we plan to ride the Boris Bikes and hopefully not get killed by a bus.
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