Weapons! Death! Dismemberment!

A day spent in the Tower of London and no scars to show for it. Though there are many many many weapons that could inflict much more than a scar. Weapons are so fascinating. It is not just their age but also their ability to kill more than a couple people. And they aren't easy to use. People have to be be strong and skilled to use them, which is not something I know anything about. But somehow we have all this armor and weaponry that no longer has a any practical usage unless an apocalyptic event happens and we have to survive with swords and lances. So, I liked the Tower of London, but it was probably just my morbid and twisted personality. The Crown Jewels seemed a bit overdone, like the entire exhibit was trying to persuade me of the ultimate glory of

monarchy and I wasn't buying. The coolest thing in the Crown Jewels was a 12th century spoon that has been used to anoint Kings and Queens since then. Everything else was Charles I or later. And I don't absolutely love Charles I. He was better than Charles II, but still hateable. After the many hours I spent at the Tower, I hit the Victoria and Albert Museum for an hour before they closed. I saw some amazing and wonderful Raphael's. There were eight of them and they were so large, they basically had a hall to themselves. Raphael had designed these to be made into tapestries, so they were as

large as the tapestries the Pope wanted. He had done them by pasting many smaller sheets of paper together to create this huge sheet. I then also saw many other 16th century remnants including altars, clothes, and furniture. While this may seem like an awesome day so far, it gets better.

I ran over to the National Theatre and saw this amazing tragi-comedy about Stalin and the playwright Mikhail Bulgakov. It was absurdist, hilarious, and tragic. I loved it. I have seen many shows here so far, but this has been my favorite. It was so beautiful and funny. Throughout the whole you knew it was going to end tragically, but you kept laughing upon occasion. I have never laughed so hard at Stalin. He was asking for a hug from Bulgakov, but Stalin with arms thrown out begging for a hug was priceless. As for the London thing, I have now had three people ask me for directions. Strangers. Maybe it is the way I walk, or my face that says, I know where I'm going. I usually do, so that's a plus.