Day 7: London

Today was our last day in London before catching a late night flight to Buenos Aires. We got up late and made our first stop a pub (when in Rome). This place is tucked down a small alley and was found by my sister in-law. Thanks Nadja!!! The pub has been around since 1546 and obviously has some old stuff going on inside. We had some "toasties" which is all they offer to eat here (think grilled cheese but you can get onion, ham, pickle, or tomato). I think they offer some sausages too but the rest is just tasty tasty ale.



We then made our way to the British Museum which has on display the Rosetta Stone. A little history lesson: the Rosetta Stone was found in 1799 and helped scientists decipher hieroglyphics that confused experts for ages as the stone contains multiple translations...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rosetta_Stone



The museum also has a ton of stuff from the Parthenon, which we happened to visit a year ago while vacationing in Athens. I find it hard to believe the Greeks allow England to display all of these pieces that belong in Greece. Apparently I'm not the only one as there appears to be tension surrounding the possession of the sculptures.



They also have an impressive display of actual mummies (Egyptian and others) and Assyrian lion hunting sculptures from 600+BC. Apparently lions were considered somewhat of a pest back then as the population of lions thrived for certain reasons. Assyrian kings would have the lions captured, and then in a public display chase and kill them in an arena to show the people that he was powerful and protecting the masses. The kings would also hunt them for sport.



After a walk through Hyde Park back to our hotel, we grabbed the train to Heathrow airport and now sit awaiting our 16,000 hour flight to Buenos Aires. We just found out that we will not be allowed off the plane when it stops in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That should be fun.



FJ