Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Hold Onto Your Hats

We went to the British Museum Friday morning. Neither of us had ever been there and we figured it would be a good thing to do on our first dreary, cold, rainy, snowy day in London. We took a very expensive taxi ride in awful traffic and once through "security," we headed directly to the coatcheck.

ON OUR WAY TO THE SECURITY BOOTH. ONCE INSIDE...
GUARD: "DO YOU HAVE ANY SCISSORS OR KNIVES IN YOUR BAG?"
SAN GERALDO: "NO."GUARD: "OK. YOU CAN GO IN."
WELL, THAT DIDN'T MAKE US FEEL VERY SECURE.

As we began to hand over our outer garments, the woman behind the counter said, "It's very cold in the museum today; you might want to keep your coats."

We didn't think that would be necessary and didn't want to drag our coats all over the sprawling museum, so San Geraldo wore his hooded sweatshirt and, since I had three warm, fine layers of silk, cotton, and wool, I just held onto my scarf.

We froze! The Great Hall, of course, isn't heated and it leads to many of the galleries, so the drafts were significant. We thought we'd have a snack, but the cafes around the Great Hall weren't enclosed and the patrons shivered. We decided we'd have something in the restaurant upstairs but that was also open to the Great Hall and we saw hooded and even gloved diners trying to have a meal. So we explored the museum and went to a nearby pub for lunch.

Despite the cold, we loved the museum. (Click the images to make everything, including the Great Hall, greater.)

THE UNBELIEVABLY GRAND GREAT HALL.
THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE GREAT HALL.
LOOKING DOWN AT THE C-C-C-C-C-CAFE.
I WISH I HAD BOUGHT THIS BOOK.
SOME OF THE ELGIN MARBLES.
(THE ILLUSTRATION FOR THE PREVIOUS BOOK?)
APPRECIATING THE BEAUTY OF THE MUSEUM'S TILE FLOOR.
SAN GERALDO TOLD ME THAT, AT FIRST GLANCE AND AT AN ANGLE,
HE THOUGHT THE SIGN SAID "CLITORIS SHOP."
DON'T GET EXCITED. IT'S NOT THE ORIGINAL FROM 450 B.C.
ONLY A 2ND-CENTURY ROMAN REPRODUCTION.
A GREAT BOOK DISPLAY.
THEY WOULDN'T SELL ME THE BOOK ON THE LEFT.
I JUST LOVED THIS ONE.

31 comments:

  1. Looks very interesting….and cold! Very trusting security guard!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cat Lover:
      I can't believe it's taken both of us all this years and visits to finally see the British Museum. Too big for a one-time visit.

      Delete
  2. Great Museum, the last time I was in London, I went there to the see the Parthanon marbles, the last I heard Greece would still like them back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Travel:
      Yes, Greece apparently still wants them. But I doubt that will ever happen.

      Delete
  3. NO HEAT? barbaric! the circle of books is interesting. and the elgin marbles have no heads. I wonder about SG and female anatomy...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. anne marie:
      I was stunned to hear SG even SAY the word "clitoris." He's full of surprises.

      I had a classmate who, on a trip to the Brooklyn Museum, asked why they always made all those old statues without arms and heads.

      Delete
  4. I've been, too! Loved it :) Sorry to hear everything about your trip was so cold!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judy:
      It was cold but it was still wonderful... and shorter than planned!

      Delete
  5. "Clitoris Shop"? I would have taken off running!
    And the cold? Yikes. Had you brought in scissors you might have been able to find some fabric to cut into a shawl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob:
      Fortunately, Jerry very quickly realized his misread or he would have taken off running, too. There were some old discolored linen wraps that would have made great shawls. I wish I had thought of it.

      Delete
  6. Sounds like the museum was saving some bucks that day and turned the heat completely off ~ can't you just see them snickering as shivering peeps file through with frost nip noses ~ it's just not what one would expect.

    I see why you headed back to southern climes early.

    3 layers and you were still cold ~ I guess we all will learn from this jaunt and I for sure will wear 3 wool layers for sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ron:
      I can't imagine that they would ever try to heat the Great Hall. My silk layer was a long-sleeved silk T-shirt (underwear). Very warm. I should have been wearing the silk bottoms under my jeans!

      Delete
    2. We wear silk or merino depending on how tight the jeans are ~ LOL!!
      Winks!

      Delete
  7. I noticed what looks to be a Haida totem pole in the c-c-c-cafe.
    Too bad it was so cold in there! What's with the Brits and their heating....or lack of?
    Does look like a place in which one could get lost.....for hours (on a warm day).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim:
      Yes, those totems were from British Columbia. Beautiful and perfectly placed. The museum is one of those places you need multiple days to take in.

      Delete
  8. Too bad you weren't outfitted for an arctic expedition! The pub for lunch sounds good after a bracing stroll.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma:
      The pub wasn't the best, but it had its charm... and it was warm.

      Delete
  9. Strange that they don't heat it. I will remember to only go there in late Spring/early Summer. I cannot stand being cold, I can see why you two headed home early

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheapchick:
      I don't know how they would heat such a huge open space, really. And, yes, Jerry and I agreed that the next time we head to the UK it will be late spring or early summer!

      Delete
  10. I recall being underwhelmed by the Elgin Marbles when we visited.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephen:
      I wasn't disappointed although having read about them and see pictures of them for so many years, I felt like I had seen them before.

      Delete
  11. Everyone knows that the Clitoris Shoppe is up in SoHo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walt the Fourth:
      There are some great clitoris bars there, too.

      Delete
  12. It's been unseasonably cold my friends tell me and you should always listen to the coat check lady - she knows more than the curators.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Willym:
      Besides, the curators were all hiding in their heated offices.

      Delete
  13. I bet Rosetta Stone hid in her office, too. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle:
      Funny you should mention "her"! When we began planning our move to Spain, an acquaintance asked me if I was studying Spanish. I told her I was using Rosetta Stone. She said, "I've heard she's really good." When I told her it was software, I'm sure she thought it was videos of "Rosetta" teaching Spanish.

      Delete
  14. Loved the British Museum. Did you get to see the book section? It is fascinating. Scott's journal to the South Pole is open to the last page. Talk about ccccoooollllld!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Page:
      We didn't get to the Books section. Another reason to go back!

      Delete

Please visit www.movingwithmitchell.com if you would like to comment or stay up to date. I stopped posting here and reproduced all previous posts, as well, 25 September 2018. Thanks!!!