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London, United Kingdom
Saturday, Jun 04, 2005

A day in the life

David Murray
2007-02-21 19:11:14

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it was slightly overcast, but we did get to see all the sites. It was great seeing the House of Lords, ST Stephens tower, (Big Ben for all you non poms) and Westminster Abby. Buckers stood out and its amazing to see how much parkland there is in the city of London. As we hit the top, the sun was out, and you could see all the way to the new Wembley Arch. I tried to look for Lords and the Oval, but I was unable to see them. Looking from the outside, it appears to move very slow, but inside is a different story. It seemed to fly along, and eventually, our half hour was up. As we neared the bottom, a voice boomed out that now was the time for a photo opportunity. I took the opportunity to take a picture of the cameras that were taking a picture of me whilst taking a picture of the cameras that were taking a picture of me whilst so on and on and on !!!!!

Next up was the British Museum. Amazingly, we used to live a ten minute walk from here and we had never been here either !!!!! Arriving, we grabbed a free map and walked towards the reading room. Back in 1999, they had put up a glass roof, designed by a Kiwi to make the largest covered quadrangle in the world. This was amazing to look at as well. We walked in and started. I could go on and tell you about everything, so I won't, but I will say that the ancient Egyptians were quite mad in their idea of what should be buried with their mummies !!!!! Mummified cats/kittens, crocodiles and bulls to name just a few. We walked and walked and then we came to the Rosetta Stone. Some say that it is the most important stone in history, which could be true as it deciphers ancient Egyptian. Some Egyptians believe it should be given back to the Egyptians and placed in one of their museums. Who knows, but to see it was, well, hard to explain as I can't read the three languages that are on the stone anyway !!!!! Next up was the Elgin Marbles. These are the relief's from the Parthenon. Having been there 6 years ago, it was funny looking at these. Over 2000 years old, and here they are in London !!!!! Now just like Egypt, the Greeks want these back. They actually wanted them back last year for the Athens Olympics, but the English have kept them because they believe that they are safer here in London than either back at the Parthenon or in a museum in Athens. My thoughts, well, I think that as long as future generations can see them, and that where ever they are safe, this is where they should be. We left there, and had a quick look at the reading room, and then it was time to go. As we were leaving, I thought of the Louvre and how this place was similar and how did they actually get their possessions that we were looking at. As much as they are safe in these museums, did they actually belong there !!!!!

And so that was my day, being a tourist in my second home,