A day in the land of Dickens- To London!

I was flying back to the US through London, and it was to take place on a weekend, so my Chief of Staff (John McDonald) suggested I at LEAST see a few things in London.  It was a fantastic idea, and I'm glad I did.

It was only about a day and a half, so I decided to see Big Ben, walk by Whitehall, and eat at a five star Indian restaurant. The second day was reserved for the British Museum. OMG - this is a bucket list stop.

Enjoy!

Big Ben - cold rain

Big Ben at Night

Police Racing past Westminster Abbey

I even got to see a Royal Procession

And then there was the British Museum...

Admission has ALWAYS been free

A word here.  If you have followed this blog, or know me, then you know I am a lover of ancient things.  Most especially, ancient Anasazi things. But I will save money on a hotel to get a guide to take me to see the amazing past of a great place and Marci and I spent nearly a day at one of the greatest museums in the world (Museo de Antropologia) but walking around the British museum does make me wonder when collecting history becomes plain ole theft.  I read a GREAT book about this very notion (Craig Childs' Finders Keepers).

The people of this small island empire sure did get around. And whether theft or preservation - they amassed perhaps the greatest collection of GLOBAL HISTORY ever attempted.  The photos below are ORIGINAL works of art from every corner of the world.

EGYPT - attracts the most visitors:

So many mummies you can't count them!

The South Pacific you say?  How about Easter Island...

The Roman Empire and Early Christianity:

From a building in England

The earliest known depiction of Christ - 300 A.D

Chinese Porcelain

The Greeks

Looks like the Anasazi Effigy James found! 

English History

Shakespeare's Bust 

Even British Museum History - this was how items were first displayed

Over 6000 years old

And to finish my trip - I got a birthday/Christmas present at Henry Pordes Books (about a mile from where Charles Dickens lived and wrote) for myself!

TALE OF TWO CITIES (Published by Chapman & Hall, Piccadilly

with an inscription from 1870)

And British Airways to Denver (10.5 hours).

The upper crust cabin

Until Mexico with Joshua - UNDAUNTED!