Get Back

Now for our last day in London! There were four museums that we hadn't gotten to our first day in the city, so we had to decide what we wanted to see on our last day. We decided to go to the British Museum first thing. Trav and I arrived just as the museum was opening and went to the Ancient Egypt exhibit. It included the Rosetta Stone, pieces of architecture and statues of all sizes. That was one of Travis' favorite parts of our entire trip. We also visited exhibits featuring Greece, Rome, Asia, and Africa.

The Great Court

The Rosetta Stone

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Greek architecture

Ancient Greece

A statue from Easter Island

After the British Museum, we stopped into Pizza Hut for lunch before going to the Natural History Museum. We realized we only had time to get to two museums on Monday, and looking back, we are both very happy with the museums we chose to visit. I feel like the Natural History Museum covered everything. Trav and I saw exhibits on earthquakes, volcanoes, minerals, evolution, dinosaurs, birds, fossils, conservation, insects, large mammals, primates, and just about anything else that one could think of relating to natural history. The building was absolutely stunning.

This building was built specifically to house the Natural History Museum in 1880.

Travis standing on the steps in the Central Hall.

The diplodocus in the Central Hall.

In the dinosaur exhibit just before seeing the T-Rex model.

Central Hall

Giant Sequoia that was more than 1,300 years old when it was felled.

We hustled out of the museum with just enough time to get back to the hotel, collect our bags, and hop on the train to Gatwick. Luckily, we set aside plenty of time to travel to the airport, because the train was moving so slow! We were also happy to have plenty of time to stock up at duty free and dinner at good old McDonalds.

I didn't want to mention anything before this trip about my visa, because I wanted to convince myself it wouldn't be an issue. My traveler's visa was no longer valid in Norway as of December 11. Travis made it through customs just fine when they looked him up in the system and saw that Manglerud had applied for a work visa that was still being processed. When coming back to Norway, my passport was examined and I was questioned. There was nothing on file indicating that I had applied for a visa. I knew this, but I explained to the officer that Trav's team was supposed to have applied for a visa on my behalf. It was a lie for the most part, but I had to get back into the country!!! Luckily, he said to figure it out ASAP and that he would allow me in on a 3 month traveler's visa. I don't think he looked inside my passport to see that I'd already been in the country on a traveler's visa that had since expired. Whew!

My favorite things in London: Christmas Eve services at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, Lion King, and Starbucks.

Travis' favorite things in London: Ancient Egypt and Asia at the British Museum and the Natural History Museum.