Our last day in London proved to be a relaxing one, not quite as busy as our other three days – although we did oversleep, so we got out of the door considerably later than originally intended.
After a quick coffee in Chinatown, we made our way to the British Museum, not too far from RADA. The British Museum is another favourite of my dad’s. He visits it every time he’s in London and really encouraged my sister and I to check it out. As a lover of history, I wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity, especially since admission is free.
The interior of the British Museum.
The interior of the museum has a vast, open and airy feeling, thanks to the crisp white walls and the sunroof, which lets in plenty of light on a sunny day. We visited on a day full of that rarest English sunshine (though it wasn’t sunny yet at the time I took that photo), so the atmosphere of the museum was not at all stuffy, as one might expect of place full of objects that are thousands of years old. The British Museum is home to artefacts from all over the world, including an impressive collection of ancient Greek sculptures and a wide array of Asian antiques. I was particularly interested in the collection of medieval artefacts, and my sister was drawn towards the macabre yet fascinating Egyptian mummies.
Some of the most impressive things we saw in the museum were the sculptures taken from the Parthenon in Greece, many of which I had been studying at uni. Thus, looking at the sculptures of various gods, built to echo the triangular shape of the temple’s pediment, was certainly a thrilling experience, as were the metopes depicting the battle of the Centaurs and Lapiths. Also fascinating to me were the famous Lewis chessmen, something I’ve longed to see since childhood. There’s something about the expressions on the faces the wee chessmen that had once captured the imagination of my fanciful seven-year-old self. One of the few remaining medieval chess sets in the world, the Lewis chessmen were found on the Isle of Lewis – their namesake – in the 19th century, and the British Museum houses 67 of its pieces (the remaining 11 are in Edinburgh’s Museum of Scotland). We also got to see various items owned by many English kings, such as Richard II and Henry IV. As a Shakespeare enthusiast, these kings can sometimes feel like fictional figures to me rather than real people, as Shakespeare’s plays don’t tend to rely completely on historical fact. But seeing these items, such as a quadrant used by Richard II, reminded me that yes – these people once lived, breathed, and walked the earth.
One of the metopes depicting the battle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths.
Couldn’t quite get a decent pictures of the sculptures thanks to the crowds!
The Lewis Chessmen.
A quadrant owned by Richard II.
After the British Museum, we made our way towards Westminster to enjoy some of London’s most iconic sites. We started at Westminster Abbey, a beautiful building of imposing size built in the Gothic style. We spent a good amount of time circling the building, craning our necks to soak in every last detail. The north entrance in particular caught my fancy – I’d closely studied medieval architecture in uni as well, so the rose windows, lancets, and intricate tympanum were all quite a treat. Not only has Westminster Abbey played host for many royal weddings, including that of our dear Will and Kate, but it’s also the resting place for generations of kings. With all of its modernity, it’s sometimes easy to forget how old London is and what a rich history it has. Despite all the traffic and tourists around us, it did feel like I’d stepped several centuries back in time, even if for just a moment. Clearly, I’m quite easily impressed by big Gothic buildings filled with dead kings. I would have liked to take a look inside, but my sister and I ultimately decided that the admission fee was a little too steep.
The twins visit Westminster Abbey!
The northern entrance of Westminster Abbey.
Heading towards the Thames, we admired the Palace of Westminster from across the street, also catching a glimpse of the London Eye. You see, my sister’s had an irrational fear of Big Ben since childhood, so she was rather apprehensive about getting too close. However, she was able to summon the courage to stand still in front of the iconic clock tower long enough for me to snap a photo. I found the tolling of its bell to be rather an exciting thing to hear, but it terrified her, so we didn’t linger too long. Instead, we had a brief rest in the grass, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies.
Big Ben.
My sister conquers her fear of Big Ben (sort of).
Following our brief exploration of Westminster, we were both feeling rather famished, as our late start had caused us to skip breakfast, and we’d decided to forsake lunch as well to have more time seeing the city. We headed to our lodgings for that night, a hotel in the Docklands, to drop off our luggage before wandering off to a nearby pub to answer our growling stomachs. We fended off our hunger with a simple but satisfying meal of fish and chips, mushroom soup, and hot chocolate, before retiring to our room to watch telly, catching an episode of Southcliffe with the fantastic Rory Kinnear. The film Troy was also on that night, and I’m certainly not going to complain about watching Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom all sweaty and running around in little metal miniskirts.
We ended our day by vowing to not oversleep again – after all, we’d planned an early start for the following morning. It was off north to Cambridge for us.
A beautiful British day!
♬ Song of the Day: Hometown Glory by Adele
The Tragedy of Errors. 