The Bronze Age Britain stuff is AWESOME in the British Museum.

I had a Beef Eater flirt with me shamelessly at the Tower. LOVED IT.

I remember seeing a show on History International channel that had museum curators sharing their top ten Stuff Found In Britain at the British Museum, and I taped it to keep it for future viewing, it was so fascinating. The items were (from the show's Wikipedia entry):

The Bronze Age Ringlemere Gold Cup unearthed by metal-detectorist Cliff Bradshaw near Dover in 2001.
The 10th-century Cuerdale Silver Hoard discovered by stoneworkers on the banks of the River Ribble in 1840.
The 15th-century Fishpool Hoard of gold coins discovered in Ravenshead is the largest in Britain.
The 4th-century Mildenhall Roman Dinner Service discovered by a ploughman near Mildenhall, Suffolk in 1942.
The Bronze Age embossed-gold Mold Cape unearthed by road builders at Mold, Flintshire in 1833 and reassembled in the 1960s.
The 12th-century Lewis chessmen unearthed near Stornoway in 1831 but originating in Scandinavia.
The Iron Age Snettisham Hoard of gold torques found from 1948 onwards at a sacrificial site outside King’s Lynn.
The 5th-century Hoxne hoard of Roman gold, silver and jewellery uncovered by retired gardener Eric Lawes in 1992 near Ipswich.
The 7th-century Sutton Hoo ship burial unearthed by Basil Brown and Edith Pretty in 1939 near Ipswich.
The Roman Vindolanda tablets unearthed by Robin Birley in 1973 near Hadrian's Wall.

Sutton Hoo is pretty awesome.

I loved the British museum, but at the same time I found it overwhelming. So much to see led to sensory overload.

I am in heaven. I have arrived in NYC and made my way to the hotel room, and now I am going to put on my pjs, order room service, and watch tv until I fall asleep.

Sean, I know you're exhausted and feeling a bit fragile (travel often makes me the same way), but try not to let what I'm sure was meant to just be a flippant joke affect you like this. Of course people weren't really saying horrible things about you. You had a fabulous trip (complete with beautiful Italian stranger watching horse racing on the streets..I mean, seriously?? How cool is that??) and have just had a rough day in London. It's true that Londoners aren't known for their effusiveness and friendliness. I think I probably don't notice as much just because of the whole stiff upper lip New England upbringing, pip pip, cheerio and all. Anyway, this is silly. It's all good! Revel! Hurray for awesome trips, even if they have not-so-awesome final days!

If you get a chance to check out Churchill's underground war rooms do so (I know you'd love them), and the many fabulous London walking tours are well worth the time and very affordable (8 pounds). I've been on a bunch of them and always had an amazing time. The Jack the Ripper tour is (ironically) silly fun, and now I'm kind of dying to go on the "Occult Da Vinci Tour!" they've apparently started to offer. I've also been on several ghost walks and loved them. Whee! London! I miss it.

Annnnyway, back to the whole hotel room slounge for me. ND comes into port in the morning--whee! I get to see him for a couple of days before I head back home and he heads back to sea for a couple more weeks.

ETA: Clicky link to Thursday walking tours!

the gladiator who threatened my mother with a sword outside the Colosseum when he misinterpreted something she said and informed her that all Americans are rude when she tried to apologize for the misunderstanding.

Did...your mother *time travel*?!?

(No, I get the gist; it's just amusing to imagine a ye olde gladiator brandishing his sword at a lovely American woman.)

Heh, Teppy! The Colosseum was filled with locals dressed as Gladiators hoping to make money taking pictures with tourists. My mother mentioned to a tourist that they worked only on tips, hoping to encourage them to tip well, and the local misinterpreted it.

Sean, Pix is right. I know how easy it is to interpret things negatively when fighting depression, but I am sure the locals have adored you.

Oh, and in puppy news, the foster mom emailed to tell me that she and her sister are getting spayed today, and the vet is also taking a look at a slight limp she's had on and off these past couple of weeks. They think she may have a bb gun pellet embedded in her shoulder. WTF is wrong with people? If it's true, he'll remove it tomorrow and she'll be fine. But boy am I glad this rescue saved her from whatever hell she was in her first couple of months. Makes me want to bring her home and snuggle and snorfle her even more.

Aww, poor puppy. People suck.

When my grandmother and Iw ere on the best of Britain tour we ended up with like 2 1/2 days in London. We went to the British Musuem and spent the whole day. It was so worth it. Especially for me and to see my Grandmother geeking out about the stones and things from Bibical era.

The Rosetta Stone was a special exhibit but still dead cheap, one pound I think.

The other thing we did was the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It was close and fun. This was at the end and we didn't have that much time in London but it was still cool.

Well, except that I got us lost the first night and we had to take a cab back to the hotel.