London Day 2 (12th Aug)

Hello my little gingerbread lovers,

After Bron showed me around on my first day I got a feel for the London central area, aswell Wendy and her housemate Natalie have both been really helpful with transport and finding my way around and with what I should get out and see. The public transport system over here is excellent.. I think the longest I've waited at a train platform is 3 minutes (It may have been less time than that!).

Anyway.. back to my day - I started my second day with the goal of making my way to the British Museum but I wanted to see a bit of the town along the way. So what better way than by foot, you don't really see any of the city travelling via the Underground. Plus with the museum only 20-30 minutes walk from where I'm based in Kings Cross it seemed silly not too.

So Gingy jumped in my pack, eager for his first day out on the town. The walk was great, I got a chance to check out the housing in central London which is pretty spectacular, Brisbane Town Hall probably isn't as old as half of the residences here! After the walk I was standing at the front gate of the British Museum and my jaw dropped, my first thought was "now that is a museum." And it's free admission, though they ask for a donation. (However, being a poor Aussie backpacker I didn't make a contribution! I felt the rich Italian, Swiss and French tourists could donate for me haha)

Gingy and I at the Main Entrance to the British Museum

Everyone was out the front getting snapshots so I took a photo for an Asian tourist and got her to return the favour. "I love Gingy!" I believe were her exact words as soon as I pulled out my little friend, I'm thinking I've chosen the right travel companion. haha

Once inside the museum seemed to go on forever, I spent a solid 5 hours walking around looking at the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Asian and countless other exhibits on display throughout the museum. I was lucky enough to get to see priceless artifacts from amazing Greek and Roman statues of Venus (or Aphrodite depending on which civilisation crafted it) to a room full of mummies and scripts from the Egyptian book of the dead. There were even mummified cats and a crocodile! Maybe when oscar isn't with us any longer we'll have to get him mummified...

Cat mummified in bronze coffin (you can see the head of the mummified croc at the bottom left)

Script from the Book of the Dead (Within this particular text is a spell used to prepare people for their transition into the afterlife)

I even managed to see the Rosetta Stone (which helped decifer the mystery of the Egyptian hieroglyphs) and The Lindow Man, so there we go I'm seeing things I learnt about in school, and physically seeing it makes you appreciate it that much more.

The Lindow Man

Gingy and I with the "Rosetta Stone" on display in the Age of Enlightenment display of the Museum

The Real Rosetta Stone (Encased in glass)

After a solid day in the museum I was buggered, but made plans to meet up with James Hargrave (aka "Jimmy" to the girls in Europe haha) for dinner and a drink at a local Irish pub in the Kings Cross area. We got ourselves a mixed grill and the evening turned into a night of laughter and stories as another 3 or 4 pints digested, we made our way home and used caution because we noticed an interesting sign warning us to do so (see below haha), then we said our goodbyes and James made his way back to Paddington. We've scheduled to meet up on Saturday and make our way to the Camden Markets before a house warming for a few friends James met in his travels on Busabout. Maybe this'll be a glimpse into the upcoming 3 months of fun and the friendly people I could meet along the way!

Look out he's everywhere and ready to strike you down...

James and I out front of O'neils Pub