Summer 2012 - Day 7

I woke up and bought the hostel breakfast. People keep looking at me weird here, which may have had to do with my hair still being in braids. And when I say "people", I mean "the one or two that I noticed", so I'm not being fair.

In any case, I decided to spend the morning in the room, first napping, then reading, then writing. I had a brief and weird chat with another person in my room, who started with giving me a hard time for being in the room when it was a nice day out. I shot back that I had walked all over the city the day before, she backed off from that, and the conversation got better. I know you're thinking, "OMG, Urs, you sat inside all morning?!?!?!" but I did, cuz I know when I need my downtime.

Around noon, however, I decided to go out, and first wanted to find a good dim sum place for lunch. I got some info from the front desk guy who didn't seem to understand what I meant by "Chinese bakery", since his recommendation was a "Chinese restaurant", but he did give me directions to a Dim Sum place. However, en route, I saw a sign for ceviches, and headed in. I got a salmon ceviche, then got info on how to get to the National Science Museum on the bus.

The bus was pretty awesome, and I saw Harrods.

I got off at the Victoria and Albert stop, then went to the Science Museum in Kensington.

I thought that the museum layout was simple at first, but then I got frustrated with what I saw as bad curatorial decisions. Part of the problem is that I overestimate my ability to follow maps, and underestimate my tendency to wander off in any random direction that I THINK is right. However, I do think that the museum would benefit from someone looking at the exhibits on a larger scale, laying them out more chronologically, putting really explicit arrows on the ground, and using signs to identify some of the items in the Space room.

I know that I could have headed right for Computers, and saw the Difference Engine right away, but I didn't want to miss any other cool stuff, and I did get to see something that I'm sure was used in the opening of The Projected Man (a MST3k movie).

That oval thing in the middle, to the right. It's a marble inside of an orange, trapped in a vice - from Projected Man.

I also saw a stuffed cat that had seven toes, and told random people about Catcher's little opposable thumb-toe.

There were other things that I saw, and I'm sure that I would remember them when I look at my photos. I started taking video of the moving clocks, and also began reading the information along with the items during the video, which I hope doesn't violate some kind of copyright issue.

I got to the Math and Computer room, and I did like that they had the two together, because Babbage's Difference and Analytic Engines were about solving math problems faster.

The other cool thing that I saw was an exhibit about the first electronic music, complete with a replica of, I guess, the first machine that allowed people to create electronic music. I put on the headphones, and began adjusting the volume, pitch, reverb, and vibrato of the electronic sound.

My brain was sort of starting to revolt against the constant barrage of stuff I had fed it over the past few days, so I got in the elevator to go to the ground floor. But I saw "History of Veterinary Health" on the 5th floor, and got excited to learn about how we learned how to take care of our cats and dogs. Unfortunately, it was all about horses. Yes, all about horses, with no mention of cats, dogs, or even *cows*. I left, feeling disappointed, and went into the Medical History room almost to make sure that my trip up the elevator wasn't wasted. But while walking around the exhibit, I remembered how uncomfortable descriptions of medical procedures make me, and after sort of getting lost, I left the room, and went down.

First, I went through the cafe and got me some grapes. Then I went into the gift shop, which was full of toys. I thought about getting toys for my cousins' kids, but when I remembered how many of them there were, I decided to just get toys for my parents. Then I left, with my toys, and decided to go to a park, sit, and play with the new toys a little.

Kazakhstan Embassy

Colombian Embassy, I think.

Next, I went to get food, and decided that I should get some fish and chips. I got the "ladies portion" after seeing the regular portion, and a salad. I also spoke with the American couple next to me.

After my meal, I saw someone with an ice cream bar, and decided that I wanted some $#*$@% ice cream too. About 10 minutes later, I wanted to explode, but I got through it.

The rest of the day was spent on various city buses.

I went to Vauxhall Station, then did catch a glimpse of the Tower Bridge and the Olympic rings.

Vauxhall, but Morrissey was nowhere to be found.

I also got about as close to the "Imperial War Museum" as I'm comfortable getting.

The Imperial War Museum, where the cannons welcome you.

The Salvation Army building.

My attempt to photograph the London Bridge, or maybe Tower Bridge.

That Faberge Egg building.

This place exists. 

Just before getting on my final bus to Oxford Circus, I stopped at a pharmacy and bought some much needed items, and some junk food. The remainder of the night was talking with one of the other people in my hostel room.

Day 7 ends here, but later, photos will be added to this post. Goodnight.