“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.” ― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Today we visited a magical place that strives to evoke creativity and imagination.  The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Center transports you into the world of Roald Dahl and that of his book's characters.  It is an amazing place for children and I really wish there had been a place like this for me to visit when I was a child. There were items to touch, clothes to play dress up with and try on, crafts for coloring and putting together, and so much more.  I learned so much about Roald Dahl, like how he used to be a World War II pilot. There was a drawer containing his false teeth, which I found out he had from the age of 21 when he voluntarily had his teeth removed to prevent dental issues later in life.  This was apparently common practice at the time.

I found it very interesting that all of the items were at a child's level.  There was nothing set too high or out of reach like at many conventional museums.  I really enjoyed watching the children marvel at the different artifacts and engage with the materials that were placed there for their use.  Even many of the adults enjoyed some of the activities there.

You can never be too old to enjoy coloring. :)

After the very impressive story center we trekked through the very quaint town of Great Missenden and up to the cemetery where Roald Dahl is buried.  They have a very nice monument to him around a tree near his grave that has a quote that reads "We have tears in our eyes as we wave our goodbyes, we so loved being with you, we three.  So do please now and then come and see us again, the Giraffe and the Pelly and me." From his book The Giraffe and the Pelly and me.  Ther are also giant footprints leading to his grave from the monument alluding to his book The BFG. I foudn it very speacial that people have left flowers, notes, pencils, and even their museum wristbands at his grave site to honor him.  

The town has done an amazing job of incorporating his work into the town culture.  We stepped into the local library where the children's section is named after Matilda, one of Roald Dahl's most enchanting characters.  Overall, today was a great day.  See you all tomorrow!

Exhausted Ramblings

Walking through Oxford today I found myself unenthused and a little cranky.  Oxford was one of the top things I was looking forward to most on this visit.  It is disappointing to me that I was too exhausted today to enjoy it.  We met earlier today than usual and for some reason the usual amount of time I give myself to get ready in the morning was not enough.  I rushed out the door half asleep and already wishing the day was over.  We reached the train station and snapped some photos of Paddington Bear.  Flora really enjoyed this part and she cheesed it for the camera when she got the opportunity to pose with the famous children's book character.

After departing Paddington Station we took a 45 minute train ride to Oxford.  There are several very old and prestigious colleges in this historical town.  We started out with a guided tour of the Bodleian library at the University of Oxford.  The library was gorgeous but they do not allow any cameras or bags in the library. Many of the books there are hundreds of years old and can still be handled and used for research.  They keep meticulous records of the people entering and leaving the library and which materials they are handling.  This has allowed them to determine peak times in library use and has helped them track down the library use of some very famous scholars.  For those of you who know me well you would think that I would be super excited to be standing in such an old, beautiful, and renowned house of knowledge, and I would have been had I not felt like I was going to fall asleep standing up.  

I was not the only member of the group to feel this way.  There must have been something in the air today.  We all looked miserable, hot, and tired.   There seemed to be a consensus that Oxford would be so much more interesting if we weren't all looking for a place to nap.  

To add to my disappointment today, it seems I have made the transition of losing my fascination with the old architecture here in the UK.  My first few days here I could not stop taking pictures of random old buildings.  I was admiring their architecture and marveling at how they have withstood the test of time thus far.  Today, this luster was gone.  I took less than 50 photos and was somewhat underwhelmed at  the site of more old buildings.  I hope this was just a fluke and that once I've had some rest I will be back to my old enthusiastic self again.  Here are some of the photos I captured today, I hope you enjoy them.  Until tomorrow, goodnight!

Pushing my limits

So on my first time abroad I have decided that I want to experience as many things as I can while I'm here. Last week you may remember that I climbed 528 steps to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral to get an amazing panoramic view of the city. This weekend I checked off a major item on my bucket list and visited an EPL stadium. Well those feats seem minuscule compared to what I have accomplished today. After an amazing experience shopping at the Camden Markets Brianna, Jessica, Lauren, Melissa, Miguel, and I took a kayak tour for six miles down the Thames River in the heart of London! We kayaked all the way to the London Tower, Parliament, and Big Ben where I was able to snap this amazing picture:

 

I have never been an athletic person until very recently and I think calling myself athletic might be pushing it a little far. This is something that I never would have imagined doing in my lifetime, but how many times can you say you have kayaked down the Thames River in London?! It was an amazing experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life, even though I did complain for a lot of it (sorry again, Melissa!).  It was exhausting work fighting the current upstream, but once it was all said and done I am so glad that I pushed my limits and accomplished this amazing feat.  

Hopefully this trip will bring many more opportunities for me to push my limits and experience great things.  I am open and willing to take the chance and acquaint myself with amazing and enriching life-long memories.  Here are some photos of me and my companions before casting off. Enjoy!

The London Study Center on Glogster!

Thoughts on the British Museum

I can describe the British Museum in one word: Overwhelming!  There is so much to see there that I could spend a whole year in that place and not have seen all there is to see.  Luckily, like most museums here in London, it is free to get into the British Museum, so I can visit it as many times as I would like during my stay.  It is also conveniently located just a block away from my flat, which is amazing!  The building takes up multiple city blocks and is even more massive on the inside than it looks from the outside.  It holds approximately 8 million artifacts and has over five million visitors per year.  

They are dedicated to human history and culture and have artifacts from all the continents.  I found it very interesting that a museum in London held artifacts that seem so much more important to other parts of the world.  There are actually many items within the collection of the British Museum that are controversially disputed by the home nation of the artifacts.  A great example of this are the Elgin Marbles, which are hand carved Greek marble sculptures that once stood on the Parthenon and other buildings in Athens.  These were removed from Greece between 1801 and 1812 and brought to England by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin.  There was much controversy at the time about this and many criticized Bruce as a looter.  However, Parliament exonerated Bruce of any wrongdoing and eventually the British government purchased the sculptures from him.  There is still much debate about whether the marbles should be returned to Greece or remain in the museum.  Some countries with items in dispute have received monetary compensation from the museum.  Some items that have been or are currently being disputed include: 

• Benin Bronzes - claimed by Nigeria, 30 pieces sold already by The British Museum privately in the 1960s
• Ethiopian Tabots - claimed by Ethiopia
• 4 stolen drawings (Nazi plunder) - Compensation paid to Uri Peled in the amount of £175,000 by the British Museum
• Achaemenid empire gold and silver artefacts from the Oxus Treasure - claimed by Tajikistan
• Aboriginal human remains - returned to Tasmania by the British Museum
• Rosetta Stone - claimed by Egypt
• Some 24,000+ scrolls, manuscripts, paintings, scriptures, and relics from the Mogao Caves, including the Diamond Sutra - claimed by the People's Republic of China

When the British Empire was at it's peak there was a saying that "the sun never sets on the British Empire." You can see the relics of this vast empire throughout the British Museum.  My question is, should these items really be held in this monument to imperialism or returned to their rightful homes and cultures?  

Football Brings Us Together

Today I took a visit to Emirates Stadium.  I was so excited to see a real EPL (English Premier League) stadium.  It was an amazing experience.  You can hear more about it and about how football (soccer for Americans) brings Londoners and other worldwide fans together as a community by selecting play below.

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Music attribution: John Dowland, Pavana D Minor, 1563

Park Perspectives

Today we took a stroll through Regent's Park.  It is like no park I have ever seen before.  According to the Royal Parks website Regent's Park covers 197 hectares (487 acres) of land!  This is not even the largest park in London (Richmond Park is the largest at 2,360 acres).  There are several gardens, sports fields, walking trails, and open fields to explore. I have seen the people here take advantage of the green spaces to the fullest.  In Florida we have spectacular weather, for the most part, but I haven't seen parks used as much as I have here, in London.  Every green space available I see people sitting and reading, relaxing, having lunch, exercising, or holding a class outdoors.  Even in the church yard there are people enjoying the day.  There was also the wide diversity of ages a ethnicity of people enjoying the park that really pleasantly surprised me.  Maybe it's because I live is a much smaller city, but I am amazed at the upkeep and high usage of the parks.  I think that if I felt as comfortable in my area parks as I did here I would use them much more.  I did not get accosted by homeless people like I usually do at the park back home, the scenery was breathtaking, and I never felt uneasy walking through the park.  It's amazing how different the experiences can be in a city that appreciates the beauty of nature and the outdoors.  I thoroughly enjoyed my day at Regent's park and I hope to experience it again during my stay.  I will leave you with some of the awesome scenery at the park.