The Great London Walk-About: The Natural History Museum

i've heard so much talk about London being such a bleak city. well, bleak is such a one-sided word. i prefer, "sepia-toned" because there is a nice artsy ring to it. which is true, really. i find London very diverse and if you look closely and pay special attention to the things people often take for granted, you will be amazed. strangely enough, i feel at home there. in the middle of hurrying after the train, fast cars, ignoring each other's business, not hearing English from the people around you, seeing tourists with their cameras clicking, i find that affirming and i felt relieved again that indeed the world is moving so fast and really, i dont have time to worry about what other people think. i miss that kind of outlook.

that was my first impression of London and as the days pass by while we were there, it became stronger and stronger :)

the museum of natural history was just a 2-minute walk from our hotel, so with the air cool and crisp, we decided to hit that first. it is a massive imposing romanesque building rich in history.

naturally, we were there the moment the doors opened. and when we walked past the doors, the huge Diplodocus skeleton welcomes everyone with a toothy grin.

"home to more than 70 million wonderful specimens from the natural world", i felt so insignificant while i walked through its halls and viewed the many amazing exhibits

chris with the life-sized animatronic T-rex complete with roars

these are not stuffed animals by the way, these are custom-made to show their actual size. this room also showcased the humongous blue whale, the largest animal in the world

and looking down the central hall is a marble statue of the father of evolution himself, Mr. Charles Darwin

a plesiosaur fossil found in the early 1800's by Mary Anning, the Fossil Finder

in the Earth Hall, a soaring and dramatic giant globe impressed us as well as its treasury gallery

etched on its walls are the names of planets and its depiction of the stars

by this time, my poor feet were sooo tired that i needed to sit down and have a little snack :)

these small children are trying to draw dinosaurs under the supervision of their teacher

after about almost 3 hours of non-stop walking, we feel that we still haven't covered everything that we need to see. the best thing about it is that its always something to look forward to. and also, the very bestest thing about the museums in london is that its FREE!