It was supposed to rain today but when we stepped out it was beautifully sunny but not as humid as yesterday. We don't have an umbrella and we haven't been taking any kind of jacket with us so we were really tempting fate. As some of you know, our schedule has been so packed and we hadn't allowed any time for any kind of housekeeping or other chores which finally caught up with us today. It was therefore a late start as we headed out for the British Museum. By the time we got to Trafalgar Square we decided that we'd better have lunch so we were delighted to find a branch of the Spaghetti House, a chain where we had eaten such a great a meal on Saturday. I must say, the quality of the food is nothing like any chain of restaurants in Canada or the US at which I have ever eaten. It certainly doesn't taste like food service food. Today we had another excellent meal.
Of course, food is one thing that has changed a great deal in England over the years. Long gone are the days of two pieces of plastic white bread with a paper thin piece of ham in the middle. There are some things I always look forward to over here. One of my favourites are the tomatoes. Most of them taste to me as if they had just been picked out of the garden and are not at all the tasteless, watery things we buy in our grocery stores. I tend to pig out on tomatoes over here. The other thing which I love and is so-o-o cheap by Canadian standards is the cheese. Yesterday I bought about 10 slices of Jarlsberg for 99p. Thats $1.60 Canadian.
And the grocery stores all do little packages of assorted cheeses for a very reasonable price. I bought a piece of Brie, a piece of Stilton and another sharp hard cheese for the price that it would have cost me to buy the Brie in Canada. The third thing I like over here doesn't exist at all in Canada (correct me if I'm wrong). Mousse! In Canada mousse is something people put in their hair but its been a dessert in England for as long as I can remember. The closest thing I can think of to describe it is pudding but it isn't heavy like pudding. It is whipped up with real cream to make a solid but very light dessert that can be had in a variety of fruits or chocolate flavours. Fortunately it is sold in individual packaging so if I'm bad, I'm only a little bad! Actually yesterday I strayed over to the Tiramisu which was a little worse but who's counting...I'm on holiday!!! A couple of treats are still to come. My mum always bought me a packet of M&S smoked salmon (lox). Nothing like what they call smoked salmon on the west coast of Canada. I still figure she wants me to have some so I buy it myself now!! And when I find an Asda which is a grocery store that is owned by Walmart, they do a really wonderful curry thats as good as anything you pay three times as much for in the Indian restaurant. So you see folks, my feet may be taking a beating but my stomach is being well looked after.
We did make it to the British Museum and with the help of Rick Steves yet again we managed to check out the first floor in under 3 hours....all the stuff the Brits stole from Greece, Assyrians and Egypt!! I didn't realise Rick Steves has such a nice sense of humour. His descriptions/comments sometimes carry some sly little remarks. Sad to miss so much of the rest of the exhibits but the other floors will have to wait for another day.
Exterior of the British Museum
Statues that form the Pediment on the front of the British Museum
Beside one of the columns in front of the British Museum
The Great Court (looking left)
The Great Court (looking right)
Statue of Ramesses II
Hall that displays the Elgin Marbles
Close up of one of the Elgin Marbles (originally part of the Parthenon)
To finish out the day I took Michelle to Dean Street and Old Compton Road in Soho where a marriage certificate gave these addresses for some Beasley relatives in the mid 1800s. I think we were just in time. The Dean Street house which had an archway and courtyard when I first saw it in the year 2000 has now been changed. The house is still standing whereas it looks like the houses across the street have just recently been pulled down.
Building on Dean Street
Building on Old Compton Road
For those of you still wondering what "my dogs are barking" means, it is rhyming slang which means my feet hurt....dogs meat=feet. Our dogs are definitely barking and Michelle is going through the band aids at a great rate as she has new sneakers.
Roll on tomorrow. We are going shopping in Oxford Street. That doesn't sound like our feet will be spared!
Sue
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