Exploring

Ceiling in the Great Court

Rick Steves acted as my tour guide around the British Museum. Unfortunately, this tour was not in person. Rick has audio tours on his website that anyone can download, put on their preferred device (like an iPod) and traipse the location he's covering.

Ramses II

Today I followed Rick's tour, so I only saw a small portion of what the museum has to offer. I learned about pharaohs and mummies in the  Egyptian portion, thinking of my friend Lia the whole time. Then I moved on into the Syrian section. The panels depiction the Lion Hunts was sad, but there truly is beauty in the artwork.

Up next, were the rooms on Greece, with the beheaded, armless and legless statues saved from the Parthenon. Definitely the most interesting detail of today's visit was walking behind the statues from the pediment. The statues were 40 feet high with their backs to the wall. Though they are not as detailed as the commonly visible portion, they are more detailed than they needed to be for being housed in the pediment.

Statutes fro the pediment
of the Parthenon

This is just a quick rundown of today. I'll definitely be visiting the British Museum again while I'm here, because it's only a five minute walk from the flat. Seriously, five minutes. That even includes the sixty-two stairs I have to go down first.

Syrian Lion Hunt panel close-up