Britain: Day 5 - Back in London, a trip to the British Museum

It is now just passed eleven o'clock in the evening. Hilary and the kids have gone to bed. After this morning's entry, I'd better keep this journal entry short and do the same.

We left the home in time to make it, via the Tube, to Leicester square, avoiding intermittent torrential showers of rain as best we could.



Our hopes were to obtain half-price tickets for Hilary and the kids to see the Lion King, playing either that afternoon or in an evening performance. It turned out that we had gone to the wrong place... It was necessary to go to the theater for it.



I knew I was not going because of this awful head cold. The worst possible think I could do would be to find myself trying to enjoy a live performance costing $160, being trapped between seats fighting back a horrific torrent of coughing while feeling my head was about to explode,. The next worst possible thing would be to have to pay $160 for a live performance and have to sit next to someone who was feeling that way.

So, we parted company. I took my throbbing head and a pile of slightly used Kleenex down the rain swept streets in search of the British Museum, while Hilary took the kids to Madam Tussuad's wax museum. What a hoot! When Hilary and the kids showed me the photos of their trip to the wax museum, I was astounded. I had no idea Hilary could ride so well in the Tour de France.



We met up later in front of the Museum gift shop. The kids, and Hilary were glowing with reports of the fun they had at the wax museum "Disney in London" as Hilary said.

In the meantime, I had scouted out details on the Lion King.

After a brief chat, and an even briefer straw vote, Hilary and the kids elected to leave one of the largest museums of mankind in the world, this bastion of documented civilization, to continue the afternoon on a decidedly Disney theme.

I have to confess that I found the lion statues of King Nebuchadnezzar to be far more interesting.

I was, in fact, grateful to be left with my sniffling nose and occasional outbreaks of uncontrollable coughing in the great halls of the Museum. I didn't leave until the guards kicked us out at 5:30 PM.

The museum, of course, was stunning in its grandeur, it's breadth of documented archeological finds, and incredible artifacts.

Most of my time was spent in the ancient Middle East sections, and the beautiful marble sculptures of Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome. I have spent many more days, I'm sure.

Rosetta Stone - the key to deciphering

Egyptian Hieroglyphics---->

On the way back to the apartment, I stopped by an Internet cafe. (there are lots in London) and fired off a few messages, mostly work-related, knowing that most of the day tomorrow will be spent traveling to from from the airport on our way to Tel Aviv.

Yes, Tel Aviv!



It is hard to imagine that tomorrow night I will be resting in the country that the Jews, Christians and Arabs have lived for thousands of years. Tel Aviv! I will definitely have something to write about while there.

I just pray that my head won't burst on the plane from this darn cold. Talk about paying a huge amount of money, to be trapped in a seat with patrons who cannot escape from me for six hours. If I'm not thrown out of the plane at 30,000 feet by nervous Israelis, I'll consider myself lucky. Off to bed now.