Day 142 - More site-seeing in hot and humid London

What a warm night! It was so muggy also that it was really difficult to sleep.  To make matters worse, the person/s staying in the room above me didn’t get in til late, and were up early in the morning, and you can hear every move s/he/they make.

Breakfast was basic but good, then I grabbed my gear and headed out for another day of site-seeing – Tower of London, the British Museum and Westminster Abbey were on the agenda.

First stop was Tower of London, and I can honestly say I remember very little of it from my visit 19 years ago, which is why I wanted to go again.  I love the history of the place – centuries of occupation by royalty, accommodating and torturing prisoners, mysterious deaths, as well as the Crown Jewels (which are spectacular), armoury, weapons, not to mention the building itself.  I easily spent 3 hours wandering around and was glad I got there early as by lunchtime there was a huge queue to get in.

I then had a quiche and coffee by the river before catching public transport to the British Museum.  Might sound strange but the only reason I picked this museum, out of them all in London, was to see the Rosetta Stone (one of the most famous artefacts in Egyptian history).  They also have an incredible display of statues, mummies, embalmed animals etc.  It is a shame that so much of Egypt’s history is located in museums in other countries but then again, the Egyptian Museums are already overflowing and unable to show what has remained in the country.

Rosetta Stone

Amenhotep III

Aphrodite

Inside the British Museum

I did look at more than just the Egyptian section, but only scratched the surface in terms of all the exhibits they have.  By 4.30pm my feet were sore and so I left to go back to the hotel for a shower before heading out again.  It stayed humid all day, and I really don’t think the British Museum had air conditioning.

I had arranged to meet up with 3 people for dinner tonight, who I met on my trip of Indochina 4 years ago.  Clare, Leanne and Jamie all live in the UK and have remained friends since meeting on our tour.  There are two others who they also catch up with, but they couldn’t come to dinner.   In honour of our time together in Asia, a Thai restaurant was chosen in Covent Garden. 

It was so lovely seeing the 3 of them, and meeting Jamie’s partner.  We all chatted non-stop, remembering our trip but also catching up on what everybody has been doing since.  They hadn’t changed in looks, but all were more worldly from travel and life experience.  Three of them left after dinner, so Clare and I headed to a pub for another drink or two before she had to catch a train home.  We will try and catch up again one night next week, and this time including Nat as she will be back from her holiday.