Science Museum

“R,” I was halfway through your comment before I figured out who you are. I’m thick. I was like, “Who do I know whose name starts with ‘R’ and who is with someone who starts with ‘B?’” Then I was like, “Law school? Wait, I know this one…think, think…” Will you take residual jet lag as an excuse?

Sunday, I decided to actually do something with myself other than wander the hard, lonely streets. I thought about going to a market, cuz it’s the weekend! And I’m a huge fan of huge crowds. I decided on Spitalfields Market, clear on the other side of town from my hostel. Then I thought maybe I should try to go to the Science Museum, which is FREE! But those two things are miles apart. Reading in my Lonely Planet guidebook about the Science Museum (FREE!), I realized it’s located right next to two other enticing FREE! museums, the Natural History Museum, and the Victoria and Albert. So I decided to hit that bunch. I started with the Science Museum, and ended with…the Science Museum. I was there pretty much from open to close, give or take a half hour. It was pretty nifty!

The Energy Hall and Energy Ring

A mural made up of gumballs (up close)

Gumball mural

Add that to my list of ailments

Even though it was FREE!, it was an excellent museum, very modern. At least as good as OMSI (and obviously way better that Pacific Science Center, which is totally ghetto). There was a whole cabinet naming different phobias (pictured above). Each phobia had an object to describe it, except arachniphobia. I knew it was a trick meant to scare you; I knew the spider was somewhere in the case, but it didn't make it any less jarring when I found the tarantula on the floor of the case. I mean, it was behind glass and all, but it was BIG!

I didn’t get very far in the museum, though, before it was lunch time and I was HUNGRY. I had meant to make myself a sandwich earlier, but I got really lazy after breakfast, and also realized I didn’t have sandwich baggies. So I was hungry and without food. The museum cafeteria served up enticing meals for seven and a half freaking pounds, so I decided to wander around South Kensington (“South Ken” to the locals) in search of cheaper food. I didn’t find it, but took some photos along the way! Yay!

Old fashioned mile-marker

In back of the college, a veritable wasteland of kegs.

In the end, I sucked it up and paid the 7.50GBP for “sausages and mash” at the museum. Did they call them that because they thought tourists might get confused by “bangers?” Cuz I’m pretty sure tourists only come to London to hear/read words like, “bangers.” I sat at an empty stretch of the communal table, but it wasn’t long before a group of at least five teenage girls sat down across from me. I hate teenagers, especially teenage girls. Especially this type of teenage girls. You know, the popular, stylish, permanent sneer-type of girls. The best part was, at least three of them were wearing elastic headbands that pushed their hair up around the tops of their heads so they looked ABSURD! I should have taken a picture, because it was hilarious, but hard to describe. When I was feeling self-conscious, assuming they were judging me, I just had to remind myself that they were the ones that looked like freaking mushrooms.

Anyway, as I suspected, 7.50GBP worth of food was too much for my small, but empty tummy. I had to very stealthily wrap the final “banger” in a napkin and secret it away to my purse. I felt like a criminal, even though I paid for it, and in an American café, they would have provided me with a take-away container. After I left the museum (much, much later), I walked the short distance to Kensington Gardens and ate the sausage, and it still felt like I should hide what I was doing. Clandestine public consumption of a sausage that was rightfully mine. Oh, the thrill of it all! London really is bringing out my wild side! I’ll be getting a tattoo and eyebrow piercing next thing you know.

"Materials House" made up of as many different materials as possible (backside)

Materials House (frontside). Each material has a single display "loop"

I'm too lazy to look up the name of this statue. The people with wings are "Peace Faeries" celebrating the Internation Day of Peace

Royal Albert Hall

So many pretty buildings