Despite the late night for New Year's Eve, we had all promised to get an early(ish) start today, so we could check off the last two must items on our list: the National History Museum for Maddie and the Churchill War Rooms for Dana. With tomorrow,our last day of vacation, devoted to a day trip to Cardiff (followed by an evening of theater at one of the hottest shows in town - MOJO - starring all sorts of British actors (from Ben Wishaw to Rupert Grint to the guy who plays Merlin ;) who have the kids beside themselves with excitement, we knew this was our last London day, so we were committed to making the most of it.
After a lovely breakfast overlooking the station, we headed off to South Kensington to our destination. When we emerged from the tunnels beneath museum row, we were greeted by a particularly rainy London day. The weather coupled with the fact that it was a holiday gave everyone the idea to head to the museum, apparently, so we were greeted wtih a line outside the doors. Still, I'm always somewhat heartened to see a line for a museum, so I just enjoyed ogling the beautiful architecture and waited for our turn to enter.
Of the many ice skating rinks in the city, this one has the best location by far!
Most of the museums in London are free, leading Daniel to wonder later in the day how "they" could afford to make the museum so nice. I have been to some amazing museums in my life, but this one is extraordinary. The setting alone is special, then you add the fact that it is a working museum, where scientists work in the Darwin Center, a cocoon shaped interactive building where all of Darwin's specimens are housed and scientists continue to collect and classify more of them, and you have an astonishing place.
The other thing I love is how clever the curators/designers were in setting up the whole place. The dinosaur room, for instance, is a big draw, so they have ingeniously engineered it so that the exhibits are on the first floor, while the dinosaurs are suspended in the air. This means the visitors can walk on an elaborate scaffold/ catwalk sort of thing to be at eye level with the dinosaurs, while the last round of visitors check out the exhibits below - such a fascinating and effective use of the space.
While one could certainly spend days here, we had two museums on our agenda for the day, so we hit the highlights - the dinosaurs, the cocoon, the Darwin Center (which included an awesome 45 minute interactive movie), and Lucy (who Dana thinks is "sort of cute")
Every detail matters; the ceiling is covered with different types of plants...
When we left museum #1, we took the tube to Westminster and emerged in the midst of the New Year's Day parade (which we didn't realize was happening at all, let alone at that stop). We were first greeted by Beatles' tunes, which quickly turned to an announcement of the Dr. Who crew. Daniel was beyond excited and generously told us that we were "the best parents ever," as if we had some magincal way of knowing to get off the tube at that exact moment.
Once we got off the main drag, we headed down an empty street to the Churchill War Room. However,it, too, was busy (though not as busy as the National History Museum or the parade, of course).
Mom and Dad, who traveled to London last September, gave us the tip to check out this museum, and it was a great suggestion. On the way over, Daniel pointed out that he prefers museums that are devoted to just one thing as he tends to get overwhelmed in a museum as big as the National History Museum. He certainly got his wish, as Churchill's War Rooms are devoted to that great man, and, especially, the time he spent leading England's efforts in WWII. Fascinating, fascinating stories.
It's always disconcerting to walk into a building when it's light outside and walk out in the total darkness. When you're emerging from an underground bunker, it's particularly odd/creepy, which is what happened after we had spent a couple of hours with Churchill.
Since it was nearly 6:00, and we had the premiere of Sherlock Holmes to catch back at the hotel at 9:00, we headed through Trafalgar Square and in search of a place to have dinner. We settled on Nando's, which was apparently a popular plan for New Year's Day, as the place was packed and they were "out" of several items. Still, it served our needs and we were back "home" and settled in for the exciting premiere.
When Maddie realized - along with the rest of the world - that Sherlock would "live" on January 1st, at least for those in London, she was beside herself with excitment. Watching the show in the city where it is set was quite thrilling indeed. Seeing so many of the landmarks we have been enjoying these past two weeks made watching the show an even more enjoyable experience. What a fine way to wrap up our last full day in London.
Tomorrow we are off to Cardiff for Dr. Who and castles. Friday, we head to the airport and our flight back home. I'm hopeful I will be abe to write one final blog entry before we head back to the states. Until then...
2 comments:
Great day at the museums! Sorry we missed the Natural History Museum but glad you were able to get to the Churchill one. We were wondering if you ever got to Rules Restaurant? Anyway, we're looking forward to you return; stay safe, love and kisses Mom
when i spent 2 weeks in london in 88, i stayed in south kensington and was only blocks from the Natural History Museum, which i visited twice. loved this tour - thank you :-)
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