Museums

Yesterday my main objective was seeing some museums that were listed as free in my travel guide. The first one was the British Museum. It is a huge place, and while there, I started to get the feeling that maybe I don't care much for museums. The place was crawling with school kids, and they were loud. And the part of the museum that I was most interested in, the section on Greece, was closed. I did see some pretty cool things though, like a pipe from Africa. Pictures didn't turn out because of the glass. I thought it was a rather humorous piece, though I am sure for the people who used it, it was not so funny. It was a woman with a pregnant belly, smirking with her hand up to cover part of her smirk. The part of the pipe that was smoked from was coming from her belly button, and the stuff to be smoked went into the top of her head. It was carved out of wood, and nearly black in color. The little card said it was from the Republic of Congo.

The second museum I visited was the Museum of Natural History, and it was much nicer for someone like me. There were interpretive displays all over the place, and most exhibits were set up for visitors to follow through in a certain order. One fun exhibit was on earthquakes, and the room actually shook around for a few seconds. Most kids in there were younger, and quieter. Thought the museum was smaller, I spent more time there.

After the second museum I decided it was time for a pint, and went on a search for a pub. I found a little tiny one tucked away in an alley, if it could be called that. There were definitely no cars going down that alley. It was in that bar that I was served my first warm beer. I've always been told by people that the British drink their beer warm, but I never saw it on my last trip here. And upon arrival this time, I noticed that most taps said ''Extra Cold,'' or something to that effect. I also found my first real British IPA at that little pub, and had a great conversation with a man from Ireland. He gave me some suggestions of places to visit once I get to his country. I think I might check it out.

That's it for now. I'm heading to the Orkney Islands starting tonight. It'll be a long travel, but I am looking forward to seeing all I can.