Friday was a low key day. We'd been considering doing a long weekend trip to the country, and so we spent some time that morning trying to figure out last minute plans. Unfortunately, everyone in London was planning to do the exact same thing, so all the rental cars within a 10 mile radius of our house were gone... We took it as a sign that we were supposed to stay in London! :) So we caught up on naps, both got gym workouts in, did some small chores around the house, and cooked dinner together.
Saturday, after playing with Brooks at home for a while, we visited the Imperial War Museum. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed a museum dedicated to the topic of War. The exhibits covered only wars from the 20th century and were all extremely well done, featuring lots of personal stories and photographs in the displays. The tanks had the names of soldiers who drove them, the uniforms described who wore them, and the photos told amazing narratives about the lives impacted by war. We spent about two and a half hours on just the WWI section, and didn't even get over to the WW2 side! We definitely plan to return to see the rest of the museum.
Brooks loved the planes hanging from the ceiling...
Dada and Brooks smiling in front of a TINY one-man German submarine. Yikes - the Claustrophobia! The operator died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
While we were checking out the gas masks exhibit (so crude - how did they think those would work?!) about an hour into our stay, I turned around and saw a very familiar face. Not wanting to be too obnoxious, I followed their party for about two or three rooms before asking a security guard (posing as a tourist, complete with large camera around his neck) if John McCain would mind taking a picture with me. Apparently he was on a European tour with his wife Cindy and one of his sons. It was exciting to shake his hand and wish him luck in November.
In another interesting little tidbit from the day, the museum itself is housed in the old Bethlem building. Bethlem is the world's old psychiatric hospital, which in the 18th century actually allowed the public to pay to tour the hospital and peer into the patients' cells. This hospital is where our word "bedlam" comes from.
We paused for a late lunch and stepped across the street to enjoy a pub lunch at the Three Stags.
Brooks was in rare form, as we were sharing a large table with two other couples - all tourists - and he had lots of new faces to smile at. He loves playing with hats of any kind, but particularly his dad's! :)
Our favorite game - Where's Brooks!?
Where's MY cheeseburger?!
After getting caught in sleet (!) on the way back and seeing a bit more of the museum, we headed home to make supper and enjoy a relaxing evening in. More to come...
3 comments:
Having a 4 day Easter weekend was great! It almost makes up for no Thanksgiving :) We couldn't have asked for a better long weekend in London (except the weather).
McCain!? How hilarious is THAT!?! You all live a surreal life...
That last comment was me. RVB
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