Local Attractions: London, UK

London, UK

October 3-10, 2012

     Some of the best museums in London are only a ten-minute walk from my flat. Two museums that I have been to for both leisure, and for class research on multiple occasions are the Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History museum contains exhibits of dinosaurs, the human body, and all the animal kingdoms. The Victoria and Albert Museum has numerous exhibits focusing on the history of design through a plethora of cultures and time periods. I have been to the Victoria and Albert Museum many times with my History of Modern Design class to look at exhibits featuring British Designers like William Morris. We also saw an exhibit on Ball gowns and British glamour since the 1950's.

Natural History Museum

       This is a picture of the entrance to the Natural History Museum. The museum is huge, and it's even free. Part of the museum is restricted to scientists who are actually doing research on some of the objects at the museum in their archives. The museum is a great place to get lost in for the day, and it's also a great place for people watching. Soon there will be a holiday ice rink set up outside the museum when it gets a bit colder.

Dinosaur Skeleton

   This skeleton was just one of the many remains in the dinosaur exhibit. As a kid I had a fascination with dinosaurs. Their fierce size and exotic figures really captivated my creativity and me. 

Interior Hall

      This is a picture of the grand hall as you enter the museum. The architecture is beautiful, and it is spacious enough to display a complete brachiosaurus skeleton, one of the largest types of dinosaur. These museums are so crowded on the weekends; it's unbelievable how many people are concentrated around the handful of museums in the area.

Mechanical T-Rex

       This Tyrannosaurus Rex looks like its straight out of a Jurassic Park movie. I read a fact in the museum that if a T-Rex ever tripped and fell, the forced of the fall would either kill it, or immobilize it. I never knew how tiny their arms really were. Any way, this dinosaur moved and made accurate dinosaur sounds, it was unbelievable how real it looked. 

Mechanical Velociraptors

       These two Velociraptors also moved and made sounds. These were always my favorite kind of dinosaur, but after seeing Jurassic Park they terrified me. They were so life like in the museum, it creeped me out.

Human Body Exhibit

      This is me inside of an exhibit showing the parts of the human brain. The human body portion of the museum was surprisingly interesting to me. It was cool to have interactive exhibits where you can do some hands on learning instead of just reading informative plaques.

Historic Ball Gown Exhibit

       This Alexander McQueen dress was on display in a Ball gown exhibit in the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was very interesting to see how the styles of dress evolved overtime, and how class, society, and pop culture played a role in their evolution.

Modern Art Exhibit

        This piece of art was in the modern art wing of the Victoria & Albert museum. I didn't notice it at first but it was too funny and creepy to not take a picture of t. Many of the pieces focused heavily on shock value, as does this one.

         On my way home I stopped at a local falafel house that I have formed a deep relationship with. I don't normally go out of my comfort zone and try new ethnic foods but London is full of diversity and I tried it out one day. Ever since, I've always stopped in for a lamb shawarma, pita and hummus, or maybe just some baklava. I think I may have to go get some after this post ha ha. The food tastes amazing, and the desert is fantastic.

 Local Baklava