london should be renamed "new paris"

after last night's late post, i decided to try to get a few more hours of sleep. unfortunately, since i had only eaten a small yogurt and apple within the previous 24 hours, my rumbling stomach kept me awake for a few hours. luckily, i eventually fell asleep, waking up a few hours later to rush down to the hotel's "continental breakfast".

the cafeteria--or canteen, as they call it here--was bursting with people, mostly families, couples, and people my age. i grabbed a roll and a bowl of granola, but they didn't have spoons, so i ate the granola with a fork, haha. it tasted so good after being really hungry. plus, they only offered whole milk, which made it extra delicious! i had also spooned some orange chunks onto my plate, but it turns out they had been canned...i've been trying to eat fruit and such. dont want to get scurvy, haha.

anywho, over breakfast i caught snippets of people's conversations, and almost every single one was in french. the few that weren't were in italian. it seems the royal national is a hotspot for euro holidays!

i didn't really want to walk to the british national museum after breakfast because i was still tired, dirty (the hotel only has soap, no shampoo or conditioner), and pretty unsure as to how to get around. but i decided that i had to press forward! i google mapped how to get to the museum, which should be a 10 minute walk. i got a little lost, so it took me 20 minutes, but was well worth it! the place was flooded with people (again, mostly french), and it is gigantic. i skimmed half the museum, and it took an hour and a half. the other half i'll save for another day!

i must admit, it was nice going by myself, because you can go where you want, rest when you like, take your time or hurry up. the museum had all sorts of interesting and beautiful things, from ancient egypt, greece, rome, medieval europe, and 19th century england. the british museum is run a bit differently than ours; there are no guards, you can take as many flash photos as you want, and they have tours for the blind called "touch tours" where they can touch the artifacts! very cool.

and now, for photographic evidence...

cool architecture!

OH SNAP ITS THE ROSETTA STONE! and yes that's my reflection in the glass

THE GUY ON THE RIGHT = VOLDEMORT!!!

my next birthday presents, obvi

mosaic-laden stairs

modern chinese sculpture

1/1937576th of london

outside of the museum

the view from my room at 4pm. yeah, it was already dark.

ahahaha me right after getting to the hotel. i wasn't tired or anything

daytime view from hotel room

after i went to the museum, i moseyed around in search of a chemist (pharmacy), thinking perhaps they'd sell shampoo and lotion there. i didn't find one, but there was a tesco (supercheap british chain), so i got shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a banana--all for a fiver and pence! i felt very accomplished, haha. even the simplest tasks here (buying things, crossing the street..) are difficult, just because they're different. identifying streets is slightly problematic, too...because there are no signs, haha. but i enjoyed my jaunt around today, so i'm sure i'll get used to it! when i had to cross the street i just lingered behind people who knew what they were doing.

as for the weather, it's really not bad! it's been a little cloudy out, and chilly, but at least there's no wind or rain! my coat and chucks are holding up just fine. and now, i'm off to read my book and await dinner with peter and pippa, some british friends of my parents. i hope that it's somewhere good, since i'm only having a banana for lunch! i'm skimping on food so that i'll have more money for travel! clever, clever!

much london love,
lilly