Stay to the Left

To Bristol, England

As planned, I regaled the family with tales of the Egyptian exhibits at the museum and they were all in for another visit. We enjoyed a hearty buffet breakfast before heading out.  For this visit, though, I concentrated on the Greek and Roman sections while the family learned about ancient Egypt. I’m afraid my Greek and Roman history are pretty poor, so once again it was a great education. Most impressive of all was the huge hall dedicated to the Parthenon in Athens.  The huge structure was built 2500 years ago to honor the patron goddess of the city, Athena. Interestingly, in 500 AD, it was converted to a church and later a mosque. During an attack by the Venetians, in 1687, while being used to store gun powder, the roof was literally blown off. In 1801, the British Ambassador, Lord Elgin, brought to London half of what remained of the statues and stone carvings that had once adorned the top of the structure.

Aphrodite (Venus) bathing

Stone carvings...

From the Parthenon

On the way to the car rental agency, we did a bit of shopping -- new international outlet adapters (to replace lost ones) and one with three enormous prongs for South Africa. Meg also tried to get Dex's hair cut, but incredibly, the hair salon refused to touch children's hair. Uh, really?  Presumably they were afraid Dex would break into tears at the sight of the scissors (?!)

Unfortunately, when we got to the Budget rental agency, we realized that I, as the primary driver, didn't have my drivers license but had left it in the backpack at the hotel.  Arrgh. Thus ensued a last minute, panicked race to the hotel and back before the office closed at 6:00. This is becoming a familiar feeling.

As it was a Friday of a long holiday weekend, car traffic was heavy. I concentrated on staying on the right (i.e., left) side of the road, while Meg navigated the highways to Bristol. The driving went well -- stay to the left...stay to the left...) until it got dark and started raining. The narrow, unfamiliar roads coupled with the poor visibility, reflected headlights, and the fact I was still continually convinced I was on the wrong side, started to make me very uncomfortable.

We made a last minute decision to back track to the Future Inns for the evening. Despite the promise of camping outside of town, everyone seemed pleased to be indoors. I was thrilled the kids were excited about the book I'd bought from the museum, The Little Book of Big History. As they (Meg included) nodded off to sleep, we read the first chapter -- the age of the universe, formation of the earth, and the development of early life. It turned out to be a very educational day.