The British Museum is a must-stop when hubby and I visit London.  There’s just so much to see there – it’s unbelievable.  (When we traveled to the UK in 2008, we took a cab to the museum and after we told our cabbie where we wanted to go, he said “Oh, yeah, we’ve stolen some marvelous stuff.”  He also said that hubby looks “not unlike” Harry Potter.  It was a fun cab ride.)

We checked out the Greek and Roman art and architecture…

Including some heads and busts I was very excited to see!  This ^ is Livia and Tiberius, who I considered old friends (or frenemies) after reading I, Claudius this summer.

Augustus

Germanicus (one of my favorite characters in the book – I felt sorry for him in the book because of that nutter butter Caligula, and in reality because some zealot carved his forehead up – poor guy).

And, last but not least, the man himself – Poor Uncle Claudius…  If you haven’t read Robert Graves’ classic, please do check it out!

After a few hours at the museum, we walked (yes, walked – we’re a hoot on vacation) over to the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery for a quick run-through before closing time.  I love the British National Gallery and I can’t visit London without popping in to see the portraits of Henry VIII and wives, Elizabeth I, Shakespeare and Jane Austen.  (We also swung through the modern portrait rooms on this trip and were lucky enough to see a very nice portrait of Prince William and Prince Harry looking particularly dashing.)  Then we spilled out of the museums and onto Trafalgar Square, where we posed for self portraits and checked out…

The Olympic Countdown Clock!  How fun.  I would love to go to the Olympics someday, but I’m more of a Winter Games type of girl.  (Hubby and I tried to get Vancouver tickets in 2010 but were foiled.  Maybe another year.)  But any Olympics are fine with me – I love the pomp, the sportsmanship, the Parade of Nations… Being in London as the UK started to psych itself up for hosting was pretty exhilarating!

We enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Trafalgar Square a bit longer, turned to leave, and practically ran smack into this guy…

Yes, that IS a large statue of George Washington, gifted to the people of Great Britain by the people of Virginia.  I know what you’re probably thinking, and believe me, we were thinking the same thing: “Huh.”  We’re used to seeing statues of G-Dubs everywhere we turn at home – that’s par for the course when you live in northern Virginia, work in DC, and attended law school at The George Washington University (go Colonials!).  But it did seem a little… I dunno, weird?… for us to give the British people a statue of the man who led our rebellion against the British government.  Hubby and I both had identical confused looks on our faces when we ran into George.  And we’re proud Virginians. But… okaaaaaaaay then.

Whew, that was a whirlwind day of statues, from Poor Uncle Claudius to the Father of the American Nation.  Come back next Friday for more London adventures!