To continue from the previous post, after lunch we headed out to check out some museums. Along the way, we passed a couple good photo opportunities for my websites, including an architecturally interesting Mormon church:
and a Christian Science Reading Room (below). The book in the window is Science and Health with a Key to the Scriptures by the founder Mary Baker Eddy, the main text of Christian Science besides the Bible.
Eventually we arrived at the Science Museum, which David had been wanting to visit for some time. It was really cool - like OMSI (in Oregon) with all the interactive exhibits, but also stuffed full of historical artifacts related to science and technology.
I had made a very brief stop here during my solo trip to London in 2002 because they were having a James Bond gadget exhibition. This time they had a related special exhibition - "The Science of Spying" - but we didn't feel like standing in line for tickets. The rest of the museum is free.
Also on display were some of the earliest calculators and computers to be invented. There was a machine for calculating differential equations that took up a space the size of our apartment - how amazing that my hand-held TI-85 calculator now does the same thing.
We also really liked this big ol' supercomputer:
It reminded me of when I used to visit my dad at work when I was little, and we would go visit "the computer" in a big separate room.
There were lots of airplane-related exhibits, including an entire section on the beloved Spitfire that is often credited with winning World War II. This is the Rolls-Royce engine that powered it:
There were also rockets and rocket parts (below right), historically significant cars (middle), the machine used for splitting the atom (below left), frightening old dentist implements, an early MRI machine, and lots more. We didn't see all of it, but probably well over half. Good stuff.
Next stop was the Victoria & Albert Museum which is right across the street from the Science Museum, and is also free. It was founded by Queen Victoria and the husband that got the fancy memorial in the park. Out front was an inscription saying that the foundation stone had been laid by Queen Victoria, "Empress of India." The old British Empire sure has shrunk since then.
The V&A has the usual mix of Renaissance paintings, classical sculptures, and artifacts from Asia and around the world. But it also has large sections dedicated to British art, from paintings to sculptures to a big room on ironwork.
And it always seems to have a big part devoted to fashion! I had made a stop here in 2002 as well, and there was the coolest exhibit that included the Versace dress worn by J-Lo and the wedding dress of Prince Diana. This time their temporary exhibition is on the stage costumes of Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue. It was free also but you needed tickets in advance, and they were all "sold out" for the day.
But there was still a permanent exhibition on fashion that was interesting, even a little bit to David. It showed the evolution of men's and women's suits from the 1600s through the 70s and 80s and to today, had a display on the evolution of the tracksuit with a Juicy Couture suit as example, and a big section on 60s fashion that was great.
And I was able to get lots of good photos of religious artifacts, such as mosque decoration, Buddha images and Hindu gods.
By now our legs and feet were beginning to complain, but we kept on trucking and headed for Harrods for those Ladurée macaroons I mentioned yesterday.
Along the way we passed the only church of the weekend, a large Catholic church known as the Brompton Oratory. We went in and sat down for a bit, but a service was about to start so we didn't stay long. Photos were not officially allowed but I did manage a quiet (and blurry) one from our seats. Part of the blur is due to the incense in the air, which is always a bonus for our church visits.
Next stop was Harrods 102, a chic little grocery store, deli and sushi bar with all Harrods products. No macaroons in there, but we did get a slice of flan (for me) and brownie with nuts (for David) from the French bakery counter.
We then crossed the street to the main Harrods and people-watched outside while eating the brownie, which was to die for.
Harrods' always-impressive window displays had a musical theme this time, and one window featured the fabulous Little Miss and Mr. Men books I grew up reading (below left). I never realized they were English until recently, but as soon as I looked at them as an adult it was obvious! I always thought it was C.S. Lewis (and Robin Hood) that contributed most to my Anglophilia, but perhaps these little books sowed the seeds much earlier.
We had a brief look around Harrods' glorious Food Hall but mainly made a beeline for the sweets section in our macaroon quest. We had some difficulty finding them at first, but finally realized that there is an entire Ladurée tea room in there! The entrance was right next to a Krispy Kreme counter, from which we each had a hot and incredibly delicious glazed donut.
The Ladurée within Harrods was just like the one in Paris, only smaller. It was snobby, beautifully decorated, and as usual no photos are allowed for some inscrutable reason. We ordered a custom box of 12 macaroons, with flavors including pistachio (the best), chocolate, lemon and vanilla. YUM.
Next on the agenda was dinner. Even though we weren't too hungry, we needed some real food to go with all the sweets and more importantly were very ready to sit down for awhile. We headed back in the direction of our hotel to a Chinese restaurant we'd spotted on the way called The Good Earth. (I really liked the book by the same name when I read it in high school.) It was a very good decision and we had a delicious meal with excellent service.
My sweet and sour chicken was especially good, with all kinds of exotic fruit instead of just the usual pineapple. David had a beef dish with Hong Kong sauce that he really enjoyed. The only downside to the meal came with the bill - the "Chinese vegetables" (just bok choy in garlic butter) we ordered as a side dish were tasty, but cost us £9! That's just darn overpriced.