Off we go to London once again

This morning dawned bright and sunny as it has been doing for several days now. Hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago we were thinking of trading the Mini Cooper in for a motorboat.

Once again we headed off for London on the morning train. This time, since it was Saturday, we knew there would be parking at the train station so we drove the car. We took a wrong turn at first, but soon recognized our error and made it to the station in time to catch the 9:45 heading north. As you know, we booked a B&B in the village of Tunbridge Wells for its proximity to the rail line since I was not planning to drive in London. The train ride has been a real pleasure. The trains are modern and smooth-running, and constantly inform you by voice and by LED just where you are and where you will be stopping next.

Once in London, we knew just what to do and where to go this time. Yesterday, we chose to ride one of the red double-decker buses to our destination at the Imperial War Museum. Today, we wanted to immerse ourselves in the experience of "tube-riding" (see photo top right). Since I spent much time on the tube back in 1973, the technique soon came back to me. Down lots and lots of escalators -- don't forget to stand on the right so escalator-climbers can jog by -- and check out the multi-colored maps that tell you just what line to ride to get where you're going. We haven't tried changing trains yet, but if I remember right, it's pretty darn easy.

We had the necessary cards to ride. They're the same ones you use to ride the red buses. Works great to get them in advance, just like the train passes. Then you just run them through the automatic reader and off you go. Down in the bowels of the subway system, it was pretty interesting to see tourists from all parts of the planet huddled around, staring at the maps, and deciding on their destinations. The system is so easy, I don't think anyone had a problem.

Our intended destination for the day was the British Museum (see photo #2 and #3 above -- Connie wanted me to say, 'Hi Maggie' from her on the steps in #3).

I'm sure you've begun to see a trend by now. Concetta and I like all that old stuff. But this time we were going for the really super old stuff. Contained in the British Museum is an immense amount of archaeological finds from everywhere on the globe that go back thousands and thousands of year ago. Specifically, we were interested in the collections centered on the Greek culture in southern Italy where Concetta's ancestors made their home. Most people don't know that the Greeks had a very strong presence in southern Italy and Sicily several thousand years ago, which probably insures that Concetta has some Greek ancestors if you go back far enough. Interesting that the very first words I ever said to her in that laudromat over 32 years ago were, "Are you Greek." I scare myself sometimes.

Visiting these museums in Britain takes a lot of stamina, we have found. They just have millions of items on display. If you actually stopped to read the description of each display item, your visit would be measured in years not hours. Some of the most beautiful pottery, metal-smithing, sculpturing, and foundry work you'll ever see in your life can be found at the British Museum. My favorite things were the mosaics (see photo 4) and the sculpture (photo 5). I just can't imagine one human having sufficient time and talent to craft such beauty.

Considering that the mosaics are built using one tiny piece of stone at a time (the pieces are called "tesserae" after the Greek word for "four") it's hard to imagine just how long some of these intricate designs might take, not even counting how long it would take to make the tiny pieces of stone in the first place.

The stone carving is just totally beyond my ability to understand how a mere human could turn out such beauty. You've probably seen lots and lots of sculpture in your life, but most are pretty heavily damaged after thousands of years of abuse and neglect. But many of the sculptures at the British Museum are in close to pristine condition. Absolutely amazing. I couldn't stop photographing them. Every once in a while I'd look around to see if the guards were taking an interest in me, thinking maybe I was casing the joint for a later late-night visit. But no one seemed to notice me.

You want to know the very best thing about the British Museum? It's this: as you walk through those hallowed halls filled with the cultural achievements of countless vanished cultures, you hear voices. Lots of voices. I suspect that almost as many modern cultures are present in that building each day as are on display. I heard French voices, Italian voices, German Voices, Japanese Voices, Chinese voices -- and a lot of voices I couldn't identify. They all were there, side by side, enjoying the collections in harmony. What we all wish people would do more often.

Sadly, we didn't stay long enough to do the Museum justice. But by 2:00 o'clock it was tea time and we had to stop. Then, after a nice lunch in the museum cafeteria, we did a bit of souvenir shopping. Finally, we headed for the tube station. For a while we thought of maybe trying to fit one more activity in before normal closing time, but in the end we caught the early train back to Tunbridge Wells and sought out an ale house for a spot of dinner. I had the "Cottage Pie" again as it often turns out to be pretty good. Concetta had the fish, but without the "chips" this time. And then it was home for an early evening and work on the blog. Wonder of wonders, I'm actually going to have this blog finished tonight before midnight. Tomorrow, hopefully, it's the Sherlock Holmes museum and the "London Eye." Can't wait. The time here has flown by and I suspect, just as we've discovered everywhere in the UK, a mere month over here is like taking one lick of an ice cream cone. It's just not going to satisfy us in the end. Guess we'll just have to come back, rent a rose-covered cottage down a country lane, and settle in for -- well, however long it takes.

Ciao, Tutti.