The British empire. It used to be one of the largest and most powerful in the world. To commemorate the empire, they opened up a museum in London full of artifacts they stole, errr.. I mean brought back to share and preserve. This includes the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts in the world. Dozens of mummies, carvings, sculptures, entire tombs raided for display here including the Rosetta stone. It's one of those feelings I have had over and over again. The "wow is this real? This is so surreal feeling" the collection also includes half of the remaining sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens and a handfull of roman artifacts along with every other culture in the world a Brit has set foot in.
After leaving the museum I wandered over to Chinatown to get lunch. Yes, Chinese food in London. London is known just as much for fish and chips as being a culinary melting pot for the rest of the world. Most notably India. But, I wanted Chinese. I had crispy pork, rice, and fried dumplings of which a little old lady was making in the window. The food was impeccable along with the mango bubble tea like drink I had.
Following lunch, I went over to Westminster Abby to take photos and then to the Winston Churchill war museum. The museum is housed in the command center that was used during WWII. This was THE SPOT where the entire British defense was ran from the beginning of the war until 1945. The bunker was self sufficient with bedrooms, kitchens, map rooms, BBC radio transmitter, trans-Atlantic phones, strategy rooms, everything. The bunkers ran 24-7 during the war. There was always a handful of people standing by in case of immediate need of defense. The day that the war was over, everyone left the bunker, turned the lights off and closed the door. It stayed this way until the mid-1970's when the bunker was re-discovered. It opened as a museum in the 1980's and is set up exactly how it was during the war. The museum also includes a wing dedicated just to Churchill and is one of the most interactive and informative museums I have been to. It traces from Churchill's birth to death as well as including artifacts that belonged to him.
Once I left the museum, I headed to the west end to go see the wizard. Yes, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This came recommended from mike blanchard. This is Andrew Lloyd Webber's newest show, and it does not disappoint. The effects are amazing, set design and costuming are wicked-esque and the vocals are outstanding, with the exception of Dorothy who is played by a girl who won a talent contest in search of the role. The show left me in awe afterwards. This is also one of the most audience participatory shows I have seen. Cheering, clapping and even booing the wicked witch of the west. Hopefully the show will last. However, the set is very intricate with a stage that has hydraulic lifts breaking into 4 pieces that can rise and lower around 7 feet while spinning, huge sets and a couple of flying people. The music was classic with a few new songs added as well as parts of existing songs rewritten for the stage. Hopefully the show will eventually co,e to the states, however with the £ 5 million price tag ($7.5 M usd) I doubt we will see a production across the pond anytime soon.
"you had it all along, you just had to find it" -the wizard
-Until
Matt
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