Good heavens, time got away from me. In July I learned I'd be teaching 5th grade for a bit, and the ensuing three months have been an exhausting whirlwind.
But no worries! It's now Thanksgiving Break, and I resume my blogging.
My last full day in England, I had some ideas for what I wanted to do. Over breakfast, I checked out the British Museum web page, thinking I'd do a London Semester Nostalgia Tour and stop at the Museum, which my school was across the street from. The museum is free entry, but there was a current paid exhibit going on: "Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic." I had to go.
So I set off on the Tube to the Chancery Lane stop, the one I used hundreds of times in a four-month period of 1999.
And just like Liverpool Street Station and Burnham the day before, I knew exactly where I was and where to go. Things change a lot in London over 20-something years...but I still knew.
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I immediately remembered this Tudor
building. |
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Gray's Inn Road--the street our flats
were located on. |
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It was a bit harder to determine which
of these was the building I lived in, but
it was one of them. Top floor (which you can't
see, as it's set back). |
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| The view across the street. |
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I finally determined this was likely
the entrance to our building. |
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We lived very near the intersection of
Gray's Inn Road and Southampton Road. |
I set off walking "to school," which was about a mile walk each morning. Our classes were held in a University of Florida building across the street from the British Museum. From Southampton Road, I turned onto Southampton Row, where I passed a shop that I used to go to for a sandwich, or post cards.
A left turn onto Great Russell Street, past Bloomsbury Square.
And then, there you are, at one of the most famous museums in the world.
The line was quite long, as the museum was just about to open, so I hopped into that and opted to finish my Nostalgia Walk later. But from my spot in line (the museum is to my right as I take this, and slightly behind me), you can see the intersection--cross that, and about 20-30 yards more on the right side is the building where I had classes in London Semester.
The last time I visited the British Museum was likely some time in 2004...maybe? I know for sure I went a couple of times in 1999, but I can't remember visiting when I lived in England. I was, at any rate, long overdue a visit, and the Feminine Power exhibit sounded amazing.
The building itself is, of course, magnificent.
Like anything else, the museum has changed a lot over the years--but when I was there in 1999, it was under a lot of construction for those changes. I had a timed appointment for Feminine Power, so I started there.
Let me just start by saying it was an incredible exhibition. Women have often ended up with the short end of the stick in history, and this exhibit set out to celebrate the ways women have been worshipped, adored, and feared throughout human history.
When I take a picture of an item or art work in a museum, I always take a picture of any accompanying information, so I can remember. I post them here, to help anyone who ends up reading this know what each item was.
I visited a few other parts of the museum. It was absolutely bogged down with school children on field trips, which is adorable, but also a bit much for a teacher on holiday. But no visit to the British Museum is complete without a visit to the Rosetta Stone, the mummies, and a look around the other marvels. Like the Smithsonian, you really need more than a few hours to truly grasp this place.
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| Rosetta Stone |
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Part of the controversial (*ahem* illegally
obtained) Elgin Marbles |
After the museum, I made my way across the street to 98 Great Russell Street. It still houses the University of Florida in London. I have no idea of Chico State still uses the facility.
This was only the first half of my day. I was also long overdue a visit to the Tower of London, and I wanted to see Beefeaters and ravens and old walls. That's for the next post.
