Deities, Gardens, and Toys, Oh My!

I must admit that since I've been back from Paris I have overall been lazy, choosing to rest my poor legs then venture into the wet London atmosphere. But I have not been entirely devoid of activity!

Saturday and Monday I spent time at the British Museum, breaking it up over two days to make it more manageable. The museum is full of mummies, Greek antiquities and Buddhist statues and was a lot of fun. Of course, there were some more notable displays such as:

The Rosetta Stone:



The Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon:

And then the not so famous. Mummified Eel anyone?


Today I took advantage of the relatively nice morning weather to go to Kensington Gardens. I was here a few months ago, but only to see the Albert Memorial for an architecture paper. The weather was also horrid at the time, as it was literally hours before the "Great Blizzard" struck London. Today was quite mild, even if there was no sun, and the garden was in full bloom, which made the park much prettier than when I first saw it in January. As I was by myself (the rest of the Group is scattered about Europe on different trips) I was able to take a leisurely tour of the Gardens, and as I had brought a book with me (Lorna Doone), I was able to stop at benches and read for a bit whenever I felt like it.

A map of the Princess Diana Memorial Playground...much as I would have liked to check it out, it is gated, and you are only allowed inside if you have a child with you.

This sign, however, gave me the giggles (click to enlarge). It warns parents that using the playground equipment will involve their children in taking risks (*gasp*) and that this is a good thing for the children. I wish somebody would tell that to the elementary schools in the States; they've taken out all the monkey bars at my old elementary school, including the balance beam (a whole two inches off the ground)--because somebody might trip over it. As if the giant mat surrounding the beam wouldn't be a clue that it was there.


The Sunken Gardens outside of Kensington Palace.


The Albert Memorial, as seen through the Flower Walk.

The Peter Pan statue! If you don't know where to look for it, its darn hard to find. Believe me, I wandered for two hours before I came across it.



After that, I went to Oxford Circus, where I gave into my hunger and broke my "No American Fast Food in London" rule and had McDonald's for lunch, before heading to Hamleys--where I decided that if Disneyland was out of space, this would be the next place I'd build an apartment. For those who don't know, Hamleys is a toy store--a five story toy store. Every floor is stocked with employees showing kids how to work certain toys in such an idyllic fashion you wonder if this place can be real.


If the banners don't clue you in to where Hamleys is, the clowns out front are sure to point you in the right direction.

Hamleys does not just have toys. Oh no. It comes complete with a Build-a-Bear Workshop, a mini petting zoo with rabbits, and a candy corner--complete with dark chocolate fudge. Yuuum.


Oh, and did I mention the section dedicated to replica movie props? Have a look at the Harry Potter wands if you don't believe me.


And then I found the Doctor Who section. For those who don't know, I'm a big fan of this British Sci-Fi show. I was seriously tempted to get the Sonic Screw Driver Laser Tag or the Dalek Alarm clock, but faced with hefty prices and limited luggage space, I gave up the dream--though I did walk away with a mini Tardis model I picked up in the model railroad section of all places.


I finally tore myself away from all the displays and headed home...just in time too, as within half an hour of returning, it began to pour rain. My timing amazes even me sometimes.


Albums!

British Museum
Gardens and Hamleys
TTFN!