14Oct2008: Day 141: British Museum & Boat Ride Down The Thames

Another day in London. By the way, I added pictures and more comments to yesterday's blog. Today was MUCH tougher with Makenna. On the train in, she was putting up a major fuss. Again with wanting to get out and walk at every stop. Chris finally soothed her enough to fall asleep. So we got off at Charring Cross (where we did yesterday), and walked out into Trafalgar Square right to the bus, since we knew where to get it now, and we had a 48 hour pass that we bought yesterday. But this time, we switched from the Red Line bus to the Green Line bus to take us up to the British Museum. Unfortunately, some little kid got on the bus and started yelling down the stairs (as it was a double decker) and woke up Makenna. We got off, grabbed some lunch and then went to the museum.

It had lots to look at so we took a flyer that told us some of the most interesting things to look at. One was the Rosetta Stone which helped them to decipher hieroglyphics. It was the same proclamation written three times, one in hieroglyphics, one in the common Egyptian tongue (Demotic), and one in Greek. It was created in 196 BC, how they know this, I have no clue. I guess the British were able to get the stone when they beat the French. That's what was amazing about this museum, was that a lot was just taken from places that the British invaded or beat in battles.

There was an Egyptian section with mummies, Sphinx and a section from Mexico with a turquoise serpent and masks. Also Roman ruins and statues. A chess set made from Walrus Ivory that was found in Scotland, and also this strange art:

It was a bit hard for me to really remember a lot of this as Makenna was wanting to just go up and down the stairs continually so Chris, who filmed and got to read most of the different things, should really be writing this blog today. But he's extremely worn out - which we'll get to later.

We left the museum and let Makenna run around the park for a bit and then caught the bus again to get down to the Tower of London. That's where we picked up a boat trip down the Thames into Westminster. It gave us a different view of things, and there was a guy who gave a pretty funny commentary on the different buildings we saw along the way.

As most of us were fairly tired out, we grabbed the underground again to get to the Charring Cross train station. We caught the train and unfortunately, we got on a different one then what we are used to. It started stopping at all these stations I have never heard of and I was very nervous that we got on the wrong train. But Chris looked and found that there are three different lines that all end where we needed to be - Gillingham.

This train trip was the worse yet with Makenna. She was just screaming and yelling and crying and no matter what Chris did or said, it couldn't stop her from throwing a fit at every stop. I'm sure the people on the train won't soon forget this ride. Chris was very patient with her in trying to get her to calm down. I lost my patience back at one of the early stops. I think that it got up and walked off. She finally fell asleep, which was what the real problem was, but it was only for a few minutes. As soon as the train stopped...yup...she started all over again with the crying and screaming of wanting to get off and walk. Luckily, we only had two more stops at that point. She was very alive and awake once we got off and she could walk.

We got home around 8pm and Chris and his dad went back out to pick up some food at one of the "fish and chips" shop. Makenna wasn't much for eating, more for carrying on like she did on the train, so I just basically put her to bed. That's what she desperately needed, and we all needed the break.

Tomorrow is another day in London for Chris and myself. I can't wait to be able to take a peaceful train ride without all the screaming and fussing and being able to walk around without chasing a child, being able to see things without constantly worrying where she is or catering to her needs, and just enjoying the scenery.