I'm staying in Bloomsbury, in a neighborhood that is probably quiet but is now reverberating with firecrackers because yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day (and it rained, so they must be catching up.) It is still overcast, so my photos are a little dreary. The temperature dropped, too, so I am grateful for my scarf and jacket. This is my hotel:
And this is my street:
I spent the morning wandering between Covent Garden and Russell Square
and in the afternoon I went to the British Museum. I saw the sculptures taken from the Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone, and the Sutton Hoo treasure. I am either wearier than I realized or becoming jaded, because I was slightly bored by all of it. I was an art history major, and I find that when I finally see an artwork that I know well from photos it can either be a revelation (like most of the paintings I saw at the Prado last week) or an enormous disappointment ( like the Mona Lisa, which I saw 20 years ago.)
The most interesting things I saw were the Great Court of the museum itself:
a fantastic space glassed over inside the original courtyard, and this incredible automaton:
Read this:
The craftsmanship was amazing, and the whole thing was slightly surreal. I want to see it in action!
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