Museum Hopper

hampton court palace was a last minute add on to the trip. it is a ways out of the city, tube --> express train although i ended up having to do tube --> express train --> bus. i went with one of my coworkers who works in london. he'd never been either, but it's decently close to where he lives. it is quite the estate. manicured lawns, wild fields, beautiful buildings. a friend had recommended the maze warning that it was quite tricky. yes, my friend has a PhD. we definitely took a solid half hour in the maze, but getting to the end is great! we did a couple of the laid out tours. you tour through king henry viii bedroom and suites. you also can see queen mary ii and her husband's, william iii. they have a collection of about 10 tapestries, a mirror and maybe a painting that are second in value to the crown jewels. the one thing, we didn't get any type of audio guide, which might be helpful if they have it. most items weren't really marke

i went to kew gardens with a coworker and his girlfriend. ordinarily, kew gardens should be pretty easy to reach from the city. it is accessible from the tube line. the day i went though, part of the tube was broken, so...let's just say it took me a while to get there. it is a great relaxing open space at the edge of london. they have a huge hot house (while really two). they also have other indoor gardens as well like one that is "dedicated" to princess diana. they are also famous for the pagoda, which is built in a japanese style. i am not really sure what the purpose is, but it is a beautiful structure. overall worth a visit if you're in london for an extended period! times visited: 1 time at the gardens: 3 hrs overall: A-

the tower of london is a must-see. it was one of the three places that i repeated on my recent trip to london. getting there is pretty easy. there is a "tube" stop and the bus goes right there too. the tower is not a place to go if you have problems with unequal flooring like most of the places in europe. when you get there, you have the option of taking a guided tour with one of the famous beefeaters . do it even if you have to wait a little bit for the tour to start. they make it a lot more informative and are great public speakers. crown jewels are also worth a stop, obviously. the first time i went, i was suprised as how much i really like it. perfect especially once kids have learned european history. it's great to reinforce that. times visited: 2 time in the tower: 1 1/2 hrs to 3 hrs overall: A

i went to the neue gallery with my roommate when she decided she needed "culture." they had a new jewelry exhibit, which klimt used to gift to his patrons with and is seen in many of his paintings, which was a really interesting to see side by side. they also have received a gift of two sculptures that were originally shown with a klimt painting. they were separated during world war II. they have now been reunited in the original formation. very nice as usual. times visited: 2 time in the museum: 1 hr overall: B+

so, the first time, i went to the museum of sex (mosex) with my roommate's sister's husband (aka as my roommate's brother-in-law), sam chan. he really wanted to go and i had always sort of wanted to go if i could find someone to go with me. the next time i went with my roommate, a friend and a friend in from out of town. the friend and the friend from out of town really wanted to go. so they had 2 special exhibits while i was there with sam chan. the first one was titled "kink" and was all about (obviously) kinky things. it was surprisingly well put together. all of research and exhibits were well thought out with reasoning, personal interviews, props, etc. it discussed why and how certain kinks exhibit and the different types. it also showed how they can be linked together. the other exhibit was about sex and the moving picture. this one was a little interesting. it didn't flow as nicely as the other exhibit did. also, it was hard to tell if you were