For our second day in Londontown, we slept in a bit, which was pleasant. It’s amazing what an extra half hour of shut-eye and some toast can do. We started the morning with the British Museum—5 thousand years of history under one roof. The Rosetta Stone, of course, was magnificent, but the throngs of school groups drove us upstairs to the exhibits on Greece and Italy.

Jen, our resident Classical Archaeology student (among other things like nuclear physics and interpretive dance), was rather bored by the Etruscan exhibit, but the Imperial exhibit was quite stimulating. There was also an entire exhibition on the history of money and currency, which Greg (the economist) thought was entirely undervalued. Nick (the undecided) was satisfied just roaming and absorbing.
We made sure to see the mummies and sarcophagi in the Egyptian wing, although it was rather sad to know that many of the treasures were only on display as a result of centuries of conquering, pillaging, and shady diplomacy.

After that, we headed up to Camden for lunch and explored one of the most unique parts of London. Barraged with gothic apparel and punks around every corner, we were initially a bit overwhelmed. We enjoyed the fun nonetheless, and had a nice lunch—courtesy of Salisbury’s this time. By the time we left, the boys were even up for a quick stop at Cyberdog, which is certainly the most interesting, and strange place in Camden market.

In search of a more normal atmosphere, we headed to Kensington Gardens to stroll through the park and visit Peter Pan. A nice grassy hill and some shade beckoned us to nap. To which we willingly acquiesced for the next hour or so. (British dogs are quite well-behaved, by the way.)

Next was the British Library, home to two original copies of the Magna Carta and thousands of other primary-source documents. They seriously had a little of everything, from DaVinci’s notebooks to McCarney’s lyric scribbles, and we had a fun time perusing everything. Just before the building closed, we realized there was free wifi available and made a mad dash to check email on Greg’s laptop. And continued to do so outside the locked gates for another two hours. Yes, it was dark by the time we left, but we are definitely gluttons when it comes to free internet access.

Then, Tesco for dinner (microwavable shepherd’s pie, anyone?) while we watched Ghostbusters in the hostel lounge to cap off the day.

P.S. We would have watched more Coupling, but let’s just say even Americans can be annoyed by Americans.