Halfway

Today marks the halfway point of our trip. We left 10 days ago and we head home home in 11. For some this is a little sad and for others it's a little bit of a relief that we'll be back in our own homes and beds soon. We started off the day with the Museum of London. This museum was different than the British Museum we saw yesterday because it was focused on only London. It brought us from the early days of London and the Roman influence to the Victorian period, WWI and WWII, the 1960s, and to today.  It was really cool to look at how London has progressed and some of the major disasters in London. I have learned about some of these disasters and time periods throughout history classes but learning about a country's history by actually visiting a museum IN that country is so much different than reading about a distant country in a classroom! It makes all the history more real to have seen some of the buildings they talk about. For example St. Paul's cathedral has been mentioned on pretty much every tour we've been on and we've seen it almost everyday. We've heard about its history from Eleanor and then again at the Museum of London. Hearing about it burning down in the fire of 1666 is so much more real after seeing the reconstruction multiple times. It gives a real place to all of those historical events.

The Plague had a huge impact on London, killing 1/5 of the population. The year after that there was a great fire that burned for five days and destroyed the majority of London. It is supposed that this fire was started by a baker who forgot to put out his stove and a spark jumped and the wood house began to burn and the wind aided the fire in jumping from building to building. 

One part of the museum I found especially interesting was the excavated floors they have. The floor in this picture is from 300 AD (if I remember correctly) and I'm so amazed at how intact it still is. All of the artifacts and how old they are just astounds me.

In the afternoon we went to high tea at the Royal Park Hotel. At tea they served finger sandwiches and desserts. They had carrot cake, chocolate muffins, scones, and other desserts. They were very delicious and a good afternoon snack. After tea was over Jamie, Megan, and I wandered through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, stopping to visit the Princess Diana memorial.

Tonight we'll be going to Woolf Works which is a ballet about Virginia Woolf, whose book we read in class. Today has been full of new and awesome experiences.