Last Night in London: British Museum Surprises

One of our must-see venues was the British Museum. He reminded me the Elgin Marbles were part of the permanent installations, but because Greece is insisting they be returned, there's no real understanding of "when" they'll be returned.

The Elgin Marbles refers to the collection removed by Lord Elgin in Athens between 1801 and 1805. The collection includes artifacts such as sculptures from the Parthenon, 247 feet of the original 524 feet of frieze; several metopes; figures from the pediments, and various other pieces of architecture. It also includes objects from other buildings on the Acropolis: the Erechtheion, reduced to ruin during the Greek War of Independence (1821-33); the Propylaia, and the Temple of Athena Nike.

Yeah, if I were Greece, I'd want them back, too.

I do love the British museum system, they don't charge admission and they allow one to take photos -yay me!!!

Elgin Marbles

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The Terracotta Surprise
The museum reportedly closed at 8:30pm so Andrew was off to get our coats from the coatroom while I remained behind to take as many photos as I could possibly manage. He returned fully loaded but with a little spring in his step as he urged me to follow him to Information. It seems as though the museum was scheduled to remain open until Midnight due to the temporary exhibit: China's Terracotta Army.

Evidently, the show has been sold out for months but Andrew's charm worked for us tonight: We scored the last 2 tickets for an entrance at 9:10 pm. After an overpriced mini-bottle of wine, we were called to queue up for our time.

The exhibit was simply amazing.

Details forthcoming.