London - The British Museum/The Blackfriar - 6/22/2013

We hopped on the tube, but due to the closing of part of the line, we ended up walking a good bit of the way to the British Museum.
The British Museum
The original museum was largely based on the collection of the physician and scientist, Sir Hans Sloane (1660 - 1753). A prominent physician of the time, Sloane had a number of wealthy and aristocratic patients, including Queen Anne and Kings George I and II. He was very innovative, promoting inoculation against smallpox, the use of quinine for treating malaria, and my favorite, the health giving properties of drinking chocolate mixed with milk. "He became President of the College of Physicians in 1719 and in 1729 succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as President of the Royal Society." During his lifetime he amassed an enormous collection coins, books, and natural history objects: 23,000 coins and medals; 50,000 books, prints, and manuscripts; a collection of dried plants; and many objects relating to ancient times. Upon his death at the age of 93 (the chocolate milk worked wonders), Sloane not wanting to see the collection broken up, bequeathed the entire collection to King George II in return for payment of £20,000 to his heirs. King George in turn gave his formal assent to an Act of Parliament to establish the British Museum on June 7, 1753. The museum first opened to the public on January 15, 1759 on the site of the current museum building.
Over the following two and a half centuries, the museum collection was enlarged as a direct result of the expanding British colonial empire. Caesar, upon conquering Britain in 54 BC, uttered the Latin words "veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered). The British took it one step farther, "I came, I saw, I conquered, and I took everything of value I could put my hands on." These things now comprise the most incredible collection of objects of antiquity that I have ever seen. I guess they felt guilty, so admission is free.

Again we decided to break up the group with an agreement to meet again at the main entrance in two hours. Anne, Marilyn, and I decided to head to the Egyptian exhibit hall. "The British Museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Egyptian antiquities, over 100,000 pieces, outside of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A collection of immense importance for its range and quality, it includes objects from virtually every site of importance in Egypt and the Sudan." Together they illustrate every aspect of the cultures of the Nile Valley from around 10,000 BC up to the 12th century AD, a time span of over 11,000 years. The first thing we happened upon was the Rosetta Stone, dated to 196 BC. This is considered the key to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. But this was only the beginning. On display was everything from huge ancient sculptures to numerous incredibly preserved mummies and everything in between. We walked into the Middle East exhibit and viewed artifacts of Assyrian art including the Balawat Gates. "The gates measured 20 feet in height and belonged to the temple of Mamu, the god of dreams. These were made up of 13 bronze bands attached through nails to two wooden gates of the palace. The bronze bands depict a sacrifice and war scenes from the campaigns of the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (859-824 BC)." Beautiful craftsmanship in the bronze bands. It better be or you get sacrificed.
So much to see and not enough time. All this art, war, and pillaging makes one hungry for food and a pint. The group met at the main entrance and it was off to the Blackfriar Pub on Queen Victoria Street.

Blackfriar 
It was a short walk to the Blackfriar pub for fish and chips. As with everything else in London and Europe for that matter, this place has a long history. The location got its name from the Priory of Dominicans whose monastery occupied this site from 1276 to 1539. Because the monks wore black habits, they were known as 'BlackFriars'. However, its real claim to fame, or infamy, was that this was the location in 1529 for the divorce hearing of Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII. He attempted to persuade a delegation from Rome that his marriage was against the laws of the church. The church disagreed. Well, in Henry's mind, it was good to be the king. He dissolved the marriage, closed the monastery, told the Catholics to get lost, and started his own religion. As head of the Church of England he created a new set of rules. One was, if he didn't like his wife, he could send her to the Tower of London and have her head chopped off. It became a very bad idea to marry the king. You better give the king a son. It wasn't good enough to give him the daughter who became Elizabeth I. Ask Anne Boleyn.

Manuel, Julie, and Jane

Wanda and Ken

Back to June 23, 2013. We walked into this beautiful pub that was all natural wood and marble. The back room was a little claustrophobic, but the front room with the bar was bright and open. Fish, chips and a pint, thank you. One thing about the beer in Europe. It tastes great, but comes to you at room temperature. It's a little disconcerting at first, but halfway through ... I think I'll have another. You get used to it real quick. The front room had one of the most exquisite bars I have ever seen. I'm not much of an entertainer, but I think I would entertain if I had one of those in my basement. The current building was built in 1875. But the Blackfriar did not acquire its spectacular facade and interior until 1905. OK, we now have fuel to keep going. We are not done yet today. We can pass out later. Heading across the River Thames to the Tate Modern Museum.