Bringing out the Geek in Me

On my last day in London is poured down rain...I'm talking cats and dogs here!  Alas, I couldn't waste the day so I set out to see an old favorite (St. Paul's Cathedral) and tap into my inner geek at the Science Museum.

I stayed directly across the river from St. Paul's so I took a quick walk across the Millennium Bridge and ducked into the cathedral to get out of the rain.  I had forgotten how incredible the interior of the cathedral was and I thoroughly enjoyed staring at the beautiful mosaics covering the ceiling.  I wish photography was allowed inside so I could have captured some of those beautiful images to share. 

The iconic dome of St. Paul's

St. Paul's in the rain

 As soon as there appeared to be a break in the rain I high-tailed it to the subway and headed off.  Some sort of signal failure occurred on the Piccadilly Line so I was forced to head back above ground and work out a new route to the museum.  It took me awhile, but I figured out how to catch the bus (yep, a red double-decker one) and wound up right in front of the V&A to look at the rooms of breathtaking jewelry that had been closed the night before.  From there it was a quick walk to the Science Museum, which was packed full because of the nasty weather.  I don't love crowds, but I do love science so I stuck it out and wandered around for a bit (I also made some very fun purchases in the gift shop including Erlenmeyer flask salt and pepper shakers and a necklace that spells out "IheartScience" in Scrabble tiles).  Here are a few of the exhibits I enjoyed:

A micromosaic (mosaic made from tiny glass rods) at the V&A

I loved this stack of cars

They had a super cool exhibit on DNA...

Six basic human emotions

The best part of the day was yet to come.  Soon after booking my tickets to London I decided I couldn't go back without going to see my favorite musical--Mamma Mia!  After grabbing a quick bite to eat I headed back to Piccadilly Circus and made my way to the Prince of Wales Theater for the show.  As I waited for the show to start I couldn't help but overhear the guys next to me talking about Korea.  As it turned out my seat neighbors were both born and raised in Seoul and one of the guys still lives here.  I got a good laugh when I noticed that both guys knew the words to every song.  The show was absolutely incredible, a total riot, and two hours of pure entertainment, and one I will most definitely see again!

The sun breaking through at Piccadilly Circus

Love, love, love this musical!!

All that was left to do when I got back to the hotel was pack up and get ready to head off to Oxford first thing on Sunday morning!