Where to begin?  It’s been quite awhile since I last posted.  I always think I’m going to try to start posting about my daily outfits, like the fashion blogs do, but I never seem to have the motivation to do it.  Apparently, I don’t have the motivation to do much of anything!

One thing that Dr. T and I did have the motivation to envision and complete was taking a long anticipated, much talked about vacation to London.  We had so, SO much fun!  I was so disappointed to return to the States, but real life called.  We did all the touristy stuff – the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s Cathedral. 

My two absolute favorite things were the British Museum and seeing the Tower Bridge in real life.  I really enjoy going to museums and I always try to really think about what I’m seeing and wrap my mind around the age and significance of the object.  It was just mind-blowing to see the artifacts from Egypt, the Rosetta Stone, and the ancient Greek statues.  Words really don’t provide an adequate description of my feelings upon seeing all those things.  I also realized that the British really took everything!  Including the walls and doors of tombs and buildings!  But I’m very thankful that it’s all located in one convenient place (haha!)!

We also saw some other phenomenal items that I have to mention…

During college, my mythology book had pictures of two paintings that I remember vividly – Salvador Dali’s The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and Botticelli’s Venus and Mars.  I finally got to see them!!  I really can’t believe that I got to stand within 3 feet of them – I could have touched them (don’t worry, I didn’t).  The former is at Tate Modern and the latter is on display at the National Gallery.  Tate Modern also had a copy of The Kiss by Rodin, which was made in 1900, which was really awesome as well.

I really don’t think I’ve ever seen quite so many religious paintings in my life – mostly, Christian.  However, I now know that artists sometimes portrayed John the Baptist as a child in some and as an adult in others, with his cousin, Jesus.  Being the heathen that I am, I didn’t even know they were related!  But apparently, it was only acceptable to paint biblical scenes/characters in the early years of modern(ish) human society. 

We also got to see the crown jewels!  I have to admit that, even though there were a ton of sparklies crammed onto crowns, scepters, and other items, I wasn’t all that impressed because a lot of the gemstones were cloudy!  They weren’t clear at all – I’m guessing that clarity is something that has become valuable in recent decades, but still…  I thought they’d look better.

Westminster Abbey was also pretty interesting.  It was pretty amazing to actually see the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I, Oliver Cromwell, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and John Herschel.  But I have to wonder if, like at Arlington National Cemetery (with JFK’s burial site), we’ve turned these sacred places of rest into something akin to a zoo exhibit.  But it was fascinating, nevertheless.  The opulence of the tombs and decorations was astonishing and we even got to see the coronation chair!

We also went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was similar to Westminster Abbey in that it was a religious building.  The coolest thing about St. Paul’s was heading up the multitude of stairs (many in the form of spiral staircases) to the upper galleries that gave us spectacular views of the city.  The Stone Gallery and the Golden Gallery were outside the cathedral, high above the street.  It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that parts of the Cathedral had also been damaged during the Blitz.

We actually got a really beautiful, sunny day during our week and headed out to both the London Eye and Buckingham Palace.  I know the London Eye is such a tourist trap, but we had to do it!  We got some absolutely beautiful pictures of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, along with the city skyline (if you can call it that).  We then headed over to Buckingham Palace, walking through St. James’s Park along the way.  What a beautiful place!  I’m so jealous of the people that get to come out during the day and have lunch there, watching the water fowl and enjoying the view!  I also learned that an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria occurred in the park!  We got to see the monument to her outside of the palace and I took a few pics as well.  We didn’t make it in time to see the changing of the guard, but I wasn’t all that interested in seeing it anyway.

Finally, we also went to the British Library, where we got to see the Magna Carta, some of Jane Austen’s writings, a Gutenberg Bible, super old pieces of paper/writings from Asia, and even handwritten song lyrics from John Lennon and Paul McCartney!

Can you tell that we really tried to squeeze in as much as possible??  I wish we’d had more time.  There’s still so much more that we want to see, but I guess that just means we have an excuse to return.  And I’m totally addicted to scones and strawberry preserves now!  Our hotel carried wonderful strawberry preserves, and now I have to have that particular brand and nothing else!  No more Smuckers for me!  Thankfully, our local Safeway carries it!!!  I was incredibly thrilled, to say the least.

Of course, I know there’s stuff I’m not mentioning – like our trip to Harrod’s, Hamley’s, and Liberty, but making this post any longer would be a crime!  So that was our trip and I can’t wait to see where we’ll go next!