british museum, portobello road market

Day three in London.

We started the day with a walking tour in the Bloomsbury District, one of London's first suburbs. The place is full of beautiful buildings, surrounded with patches of green parks. We saw Charles Dicken's and Virgiana Wolf's homes, noted a few London writer landmarks, and took in the fresh Saturday air.

intricate hotel

Bloomsbury park

kertes enjoyed it-- promise!

A few friends and I stopped for a bit of espresso in a cute street cafe and took in some of the surrounding street shops.  

how sweet is this men's ware clothing store?

Later, we made our way to the British museum. It's absolutely gorgeous, enormous, and free.

our group gathers at the front, awaiting our leader's instruction

museum lobby

museum floor-- fitting

You could happily lose yourself there for hours; meander around ancient Mesopotamia, dip into an exhibit of Japanese tapestry, observe Egyptian mummies, marvel at a Viking helmet, ponder the Grecian concept of physical beauty, and barely scratch the surface.

statue in museum library

japanese tea house

v much attitude

persian tablets

The museum has four floors, and they're all jam-packed full. My brain was over-loaded, so we headed to Pret A Manger (new favorite store! pleas get one, U.S.!) for a picnic lunch which we ate at one of the numerous parks nearby. However, we had to frighten off the pigeons every 2 minutes or so. They're devilishly confident and unafraid. Terrifying.

Later, Aseye, Anna-Katherine, Lucy-Rose, Sophia and I headed to Portobello Road to do some shopping.We found rows of lovely residential homes right next to countless antique sellers and souvenir vendors. There were offerings of nearly everything one could think of: gaudy costume jewelry, 18th century brush and comb kits, emerald rings, wooden canes, 1970's leather bags, metal model air-planes, lace gloves, 19th century sheet music, antique fox tail key-chains, etc. The street itself was a colorful kaleidoscope of fruit-sellers, eager tourists, vintage vendors, and seasoned Londoners. I'm sure there was a pick-pocket or two thrown in as well -- was warned often enough about them!

adorable residential w/ roses

costume jewelry

I ended up purchasing an authentic vintage leather bag for 30 pounds-- not too bad of a deal, and I'm quite pleased with it.

After a bit of browsing, Lucy-rose, Aseye, and I headed to a small chocolate shop for a pick-me-up pot of coffee and a brownie before heading back home.

However-- due to tube closings, inabilities to read maps/bus signs, rush hour traffic, and confusion amidst our group, it took us a good three hours to get back to the hostel. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but we learned some very practical things about the British transportation system.

As in: make sure you get on the EAST bound tube if you're trying to go east, not the WEST bound tube.

OR

When a tube worker tells you how to get back, make sure you actually understand him -- deciphering those accents can be tricky.

OR

Buses board on both sides of the street and go different directions-- this matters. It is entirely possible to travel for 30 minutes in the opposite direction due to this slight distinction.

Anyways. We're back safe and that's all that matters. Tomorrow, we're observing the Eucharist at St. Paul's and seeing "As You Like It" at the Globe.

As always, thanks for reading!