June 2026 – A Traveling Fool

June 26, 2026July 5, 2026

Egyptian Expedition #002: Day 2 – London British Museum

Having set my wake-up call for 6:30am and my breakfast delivery for 7am, I needed to make sure that I would be awake and dressed by when my doorbell rang. I had taken my shower the night before to cut down the morning time and was dressed on time. Whew!

I actually felt pretty perky and was ready to roll when we assembled down in the lobby at 8:15am to walk over to the British Museum. They didn’t open until 10am, but we had a private viewing of the Egyptian collection set for 8:30am. We were a smidge early. They let us in, giving us a little extra time. We entered and walked up the stairs to the third floor and started our tour in Galleries 62 & 63.

For anyone not familiar with the British Museum, it is a public museum, located in the Bloomsbury district of London, which is dedicated to human history, art, and culture. Established in 1753, they have a permanent collection of eight million objects, with roughly 80,000 of those objects on public view, making it the largest museum in the world. It was also the first of its kind – a free, public, national museum.

In the early 1800s, the museum expanded its collection of Egyptian sculpture, with its acquisition of the Rosetta Stone (1802) and the colossal bust of Pharaoh Ramesses II (1818). They also acquired several pieces after the defeat of the French in the Battle of the Nile.

In Galleries 62 & 63, the death and afterlife, which held particular significance and meaning for the ancient Egyptians, is explored. This includes mummies, coffins, funerary masks, portraits, and other items designed to be buried with the deceased. Mummification, magic, and rituals are explored.

Several internal organs were removed and preserved in canopic jars. These were the lungs, intestines, stomach and liver. The brain was also removed (through the nose), but wasn’t considered to be important, so it was thrown away. The heart was kept in the body.

Small figures called shabtis were buried to magically provide for the deceased in the afterlife. Animals considered to be sacred, like bulls, crocodiles, cats, and falcons, were also mummified.

One of the highlights of these galleries is the Book of the Dead of Hunefer, which shows scenes of Hunefer’s judgement. He was a royal scribe and an overseer of cattle. It is celebrated as one of the finest surviving examples of the Book of the Dead in the world. Due to the fact that, as ancient papyrus, it needs to have special care, it is not always on public display. We were very fortunate to be able to see and photograph it.

The Book of the Dead of Hunefer dates to the 19^th Dynasty (c. 1310 – 1275 BC). It contains magical spells and guides meant to help the deceased safely navigate the underworld and reach the afterlife. It is most famous for its illustrations depicting the journey through the afterlife. These included the following rituals: 1) The Opening of the Mouth – which restores the deceased’s senses so they could eat, drink, and speak in the afterlife; 2) The Weighing of the Heart – in which the deceased’s heart is weighed against the feather of Ma’at (representing truth and justice) on a scale overseen by the jackal-headed god Anubis; 3) The Devourer – if the heart was heavy with sin, it was consumed by Ammit, a hybrid beast composed of a crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus; 4) The Presentation to Osiris – if the deceased passes the judgement, they are deemed “true of voice” and taken by Horus (the falcon-headed god) to Osiris, the lord of the underworld. Osiris is shown sitting under a canopy with his sister Nephthys and his wife (who was also his sister) Isis.

Since I have an issue with my back that doesn’t tolerate standing in one place for too long, I love the modern whisper devices that allow me to hear what the person showing us around is saying without needing to be all that close to them. That lets me keep moving around while I am listening. I can also take loads of photos without too much of a crowd. That’s why most of the photos I took in the British Museum have so few other people in them.

I took a lot of photos (131 that I kept). There were so many great items to photograph. Plus the lack of people outside of my group of eighteen meant that I had a chance of getting some good ones. In more crowded situations (or more rushed) later on in the trip, I might not be so fortunate.

Once we had explored those two galleries, we moved on to Gallery 64. This one concentrated on the beginnings of ancient Egyptian civilization from about 11000 BC along the Nile.

The annual flooding of the Nile created fertile land ideal for growing crops. The culture rapidly advanced in technology and social organization during the 5^th millennium BC. By the end of the Predynastic period (about 3300 BC), regional rulers began competing for power and territory. This ultimately led to the unification of Egypt in about 3100 BC. This was believed to have been under King Narmer. Egyptian hieroglyphs were invented about 3200 BC and were used for almost 4,000 years.

The first royal tombs were built in the Egyptian desert at Abydos, 56 miles (90km) north of Luxor. Funerals at this point of Egyptian history were simple and didn’t involve mummification, which was a practice that began about 2500 BC. They had a couple burials from this time in Gallery 64, which I did photograph, but thought they might be a bit much for some people who might not want to see them.

The strong central increase in wealth led to dramatic achievements in architecture, writing, and the arts. This culminated in the Great Pyramids of Giza in about 2600 BC.

Two special treasures that I photographed in Gallery 64 were the Statue of Ankhwa and the Pitt-Rivers Knife. Ankhwa was a ship-builder who was shown holding an adze, a woodworking tool indicative of his trade. This dates to roughly 2686 – 2613 BC (3^rd Dynasty), was made of red granite and was probably found in Sakkara (formerly Memphis).

The Pitt-Rivers Knife (named after the archaeologist who discovered it), has an ivory grip decorated with rows of animals in relief and a flint blade with a serrated lower edge. The caramel-colored flint portion of the knife is distinctive and is of a type known as a ‘ripple-flaked knife’. At the time of the knife’s purchase for the museum its date was unknown, but in 1894 the pioneering archaeologist W.M.F. Petrie came across examples of similar knives among the grave objects in a large cemetery at Naqada. Petrie and Pitt-Rivers knew each other and were both determined to figure out when it was made. Eventually it was determined it belonged to prehistoric times. The period became known as the Predynastic (c. 4500 BC – 3100 BC) and the knife was subsequently dated to roughly 3200 BC. It was believed to have been used for ceremonial purposes only.

Next we took a glance at the items in galleries 65, 66, and 61 before heading downstairs to Gallery 4 on the ground floor. This contained the Egyptian sculpture gallery, which represents three millennia of history. The monuments displayed here were meant as vehicles for the spirits of deities, kings, and officials, and were originally placed in temples and tombs.

Our first stop was the Rosetta Stone. By this time, the museum had just opened. People were already swarming around the Rosetta Stone and posing in front of it. This made it difficult to get a decent photo of it. Patience was required, but seemed to be quite thin among several of the people there who weren’t part of our group. One woman tried to pick a fight with me, but I didn’t let her.

On my first visit to the British Museum, back in 1983, the Rosetta Stone wasn’t protected by glass and didn’t seem to hold that much interest for people. It was more of a side note. This time, it was getting nearly as much attention as the Mona Lisa does at the Louvre.

The Rosetta Stone served as the key to deciphering the ancient Egyptian language of hieroglyphics. It was stumbled upon in 1799 by a group of French soldiers who were digging foundations for a fort in the town of Rashid (or Rosetta) near Alexandria. Fortunately, they immediately recognized that their find was important.

The three languages carved into the stone are: Hieroglyphs, Ancient Egyptian Demotic script, and Ancient Greek. The presence of Greek was the main key to deciphering the hieroglyphs.

The largest Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum is of Pharaoh Ramesses II, who reigned through most of the 13^th century BC (for 66 years) and died at the ripe old age of 96. The full, seated statue originally stood at the Ramesseum, Ramesses II’s memorial temple on the West Bank of the Nile at Thebes (now Luxor). It was one of a pair which faced the Nile and the temples of Karnak and Luxor on the other side of the river.

It was cut from a single block of two-tone granite and granodiorite, one of Egypt’s hardest and most prized stones, chosen for both symbolism and durability. In the closeup photo I have included, you can see that the face and crown are more of a pinkish color than the rest of the statue. This was on purpose for visual impact between the dark, earthy contrast of the body (evoking Egypt’s fertile, black soil) with the more ethereal connotations of the lighter, pinkish face and crown. I also caught a nice photo of the head of Amenhotep III.

Another photo that I captured (and doesn’t look like much) is part of the Great Giza Sphinx’s missing beard. I thought that was pretty cool to see. After we left the Egyptian sculptures in Gallery 4, we took a short visit to the Parthenon Sculptures in Gallery 18.

Not too far from the museum, a coach was waiting for us to take us on a sightseeing tour of London for about an hour. They made sure to include the Egyptian obelisk they call “Cleopatra’s Needle” along the Victorian Embankment. It is actually one of a pair of obelisks that were carved during the New Kingdom period and inscribed by both Thutmose III and Ramesses II. Both obelisks were on display in Alexandria for almost two millennia. Then, they were sent to London (gifted 1819, erected in 1878) and New York City (gifted 1869, erected in 1881).

After our sightseeing tour, we were taken for a pub lunch. We put in our orders the day before so the food would be ready shortly after we arrived. We sat all together in an upstairs room of the pub. We had a couple choices for a main course and a dessert plus several choices for beverages. I usually like to get whatever the best draft ale, lager, or stout might be in any particular pub or possibly a draft hard cider. This time, I got a pint of the ale with fish and chips and a sticky toffee pudding. I found a taker for the mushy peas that came with the fish and chips. I definitely had the vinegar on the fish as well as the tartar sauce.

After lunch, we headed for the Petrie Museum at the University of London.

Next – A special museum of artifacts from Egypt and the Sudan at the University of London – the Petrie Museum

June 21, 2026July 5, 2026

Egyptian Expedition #001: Day 1 – London Arrival

I arrived at the hotel in the Fitrovia district of London at about 9:30am. The room wasn’t ready. Although check-in time was officially 3pm, I was told at the desk that they would make me a priority. They checked my cases into a locked room. Then they showed me the guest lounge where I could hang out, if I chose to do so. They also said that breakfast was still being served and I could get some in the Oscar Restaurant. I was hungry, so I had some Eggs Royale (Eggs Benedict with salmon instead of ham) plus fresh squeezed orange juice and English Breakfast tea with milk. Wonderful. My tummy was happy and I had the energy to set out to explore the area.

As part of the Pharaohs & Pyramids Viking River Cruise to Egypt, I had signed up for a pre-cruise tour called British Collections of Ancient Egypt. The pre-tour focused on the many Egyptian treasures in London and Oxford. Day 1 was a free day for people to arrive in London and get settled in the hotel. Day 2 would be a full itinerary and busy, busy, busy.

In the many times I have been to London over the years since my first trip in 1983, I had never stayed in a hotel in this particular area of London before. I had stayed in Covent Garden (at the Fielding and at The Strand Palace) and at Russell Square (at the Bedford) and at various other locations around the city, but this was my first stay in the bohemian home to such writers as Virginia Woolf and George Bernard Shaw. Urbanized in the 18^th century, the core area of Fitrovia had its roots in the ancient estate (1000AD) of Tottenham Court. The Fitzroy family owned a good share of the land at the time that it was urbanized, so their name was attached to the district.

The area became a focus of Chartist activities after the Reform Act of 1832. Karl Marx attended some of the events, including meetings held at Charlotte Street (the location of my hotel). The area also had several working men’s clubs, including the Communist Club.

The area’s most prominent feature is the BT Tower on Cleveland Street, one of London’s tallest buildings. I took a photo of it during my exploratory walk after breakfast. I also took a photo of one of the pedestrian-only residential streets as I walked from one end to the other and back again. This one was just a short walk from the hotel.

Charlotte Street was formed in 1763 and was named in honor of Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. The Charlotte Street Hotel had opened in 2000 as a small (52 rooms), five star, luxury hotel paying homage to the Bloomsbury Group – the influential circle of early 20^th century artists and writers who had gathered just a few streets away in the townhouses of Bloomsbury.

The hotel had been transformed from a former 19^th century dental warehouse and was part of the British Firmdale Hotels. Each room is completely individual. No two are alike. I had hoped that the restaurant, Oscar, had some connection or tribute to Oscar Wilde. But it did not.

I had just returned from my walk and was settling into a cozy chair in the guest-only lounge when I was informed that my room was ready and my cases were there waiting for me. It was a very nice room, with an impressive (and tempting) mini-bar and a sizeable shower. I took note that I could see the Newman Arms from the room. I had already explored the Newman Passage and planned to have lunch at the Newman Arms. So I settled into the room, getting things ready for the next couple of days. Then I made my way to the pub.

Just steps away from the hotel was Newman Passage. Basically, I just needed to hang a right after going out of the front entrance of the hotel and hang another quick right down the very narrow Percy Passage to Rathbone Street. The Newman Arms was right across the street with the entrance to the Newman Passage just to its left.

The Newman Passage is a narrow, cobbled lane linking Rathbone Street to Newman Street. The passage dates to 1746. It is little changed and so gives a view into what Georgian London might have looked like. It is often used in films and television shows whenever they want a dark Georgian or Victorian atmosphere. In real life, it had been home to a co-op kitchen for Communist refugees and a famous location for London’s streetwalkers.

The Newman Arms had been built in 1730 as a pub. But the building had previously been used as a tallow chandler, an ironmongery, a picture framers, and a brothel. The pub was a popular hangout for George Orwell and inspired the Proles pub in his novel 1984. It was also a London hangout for Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas (“Do not go gentle into that good night”). The pub downstairs is quite tiny. But the restaurant upstairs has a bit more room and is known for its pies (of the savory variety). I ordered a Scotch Egg, Chicken Liver Pate, and a Limoncello Spritzer Aperitif. Looking out of the pub’s window at the hotel, I could see the windows of my room.

At 3:30pm, the Tour Director for the London part of the trip was available in the lobby of the hotel for us to check in, get any questions answered, etc. I discovered that my travel alarm had died on the way to London. A new battery didn’t help. So I had a chat with the hotel’s concierge. His suggestion was to schedule a wakeup call and also fill out the card to have my breakfast delivered to my room. This way I would have more time to sleep and not need to be fully ready for the day, just clothed, when breakfast was delivered. That worked out great.

Was quite full from lunch, so just snacked a bit for dinner. When the fellow arrived later for turn-down service, I was already comfortably settled in the bed. So he just gave me a couple of bottles of water and went on his merry way. I did make it until 9pm before calling it a night. But that was it. I needed to get up at 6:30 the next morning. Nine and a half hours would be a good rest.

Next – Privileged access to the Egyptian Rooms of the British Museum

June 18, 2026

London Adventure: Big Bus Tour, Kensington Palace

The second day of the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off tour, I had planned to visit Kensington Palace (which I had not been to since 1983) and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (which I had never visited before). To get to both of these places, I needed the Blue Line. The first bus to arrive was the Red Line. But the Big Bus driver suggested that I take it to the London Eye stop as there would be more buses there than at the stop I was currently. I would be able to get a Blue Line bus more quickly.

Arriving at the London Eye, I found that the next Blue Line bus wouldn’t be there for a half hour. At least I had a place to sit down there. It took longer than a half hour. We did alright until we got to the Houses of Parliament. That was when it became clear as to why the buses were taking longer than anticipated. There were protests going on that were completely blocking traffic. So we sat at Parliament for about an hour before we were on our way again. By the time I finally got to Kensington Palace, it was 1pm. Two hours later than I had planned to get there.

Kensington Palace was once a small and suburban villa, known as Nottingham House until monarchs William III and Mary II chose it in 1689 to be their country retreat. When his beloved Mary died from smallpox in 1694 in the palace, William lost interest in the lavish entertainments and balls. Despite his grief, the King finished the building with a grand gallery to the south of the palace, enlarging Sir Christopher Wren’s original plan. William III died in 1702 after catching a fatal chill in the King’s Gallery.

Queen Anne spent very little time at Kensington Palace. It wasn’t until George I succeeded to the throne that the palace was enlarged by the designer, architect, and artist William Kent. He filled it with art and fine furniture, giving it the refined 18th-century appearance that many of the rooms still have today.

After King George II’s death, no other reigning monarch lived at Kensington for nearly 70 years. Since George III didn’t wish to live at Kensington himself, he granted apartments to other members of the royal family. This included his fourth son, Edward, Duke of Kent. Edward’s wife, the German duchess, Victoire, gave birth to the future Queen Victoria there in 1819. The baby was christened Alexandrina Victoria.

Edward died eight months later, leaving the Duchess to raise Victoria alone. The Duchess of Kent did her best to educate and protect the girl who might one day become queen. Victoria was educated almost entirely in her rooms at Kensington. Frequent trips to the theatre, daily rides in the gardens and her favorite dog, Dash, punctuated Victoria’s early days. However, Victoria saw virtually no other children and was kept away from life at court.

On the morning of June 20, 1837, Princess Victoria woke up to be told that the King had died and she was now Queen. She was just 18 years old. She held her first Privy Council meeting that day in the Red Saloon at Kensington Palace. A few weeks later, she departed for Buckingham Palace.

Kensington Palace once again became a dormitory for minor royals until after World War II. Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon lived at the palace with their family from the 1960s. The couple created fashionable interiors and hosted many parties for celebrity guests, pop stars and artists.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana lived at Kensington after their wedding in 1981. Their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, grew up there. Kensington is the London home of the current Prince and Princess of Wales and their children. It was also the home of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they were first married.

I started my visit in the Queen’s State Apartments, which is presented as it was in the 1690s when Queen Mary II ruled with her husband, King William III. Then I explored the King’s State Apartments which retain the era of King George II in the 1700s. I finished my visit with the rooms of Queen Victoria. They remain as they were when she lived there as a child.

I had lunch at the palace and then revised my plans. By this point it was about 3:30pm. So I decided to save the Sherlock Holmes Museum for a later visit. Since the house where my father’s maternal great grandfather had been a butler was nearby, I decided to take a look at that and then take the Hop On Hop Off bus back to Trafalgar Square and call it a day.

That night I had dinner in the hotel restaurant. They had a dish with salmon, haddock, and prawns in a Bechamel sauce with whipped potatoes on top. Carrots were served with it. I also had a sparkling rose wine. For dessert was a trifle. This was made with sponge cake, cherry jelly (what would be called jello in the States), custard, whipped cream and whole cherries.

My last day in London was spent starting at the National Portrait Gallery in the morning, among the portraits of the famous and powerful of the country throughout its history, beginning with the Tudors. The afternoon was spent among some truly amazing and beautiful works of art at the National Gallery. They had such a wonderful variety of art. It was a lovely way to spend my last day on that trip.