This might not seem like a big deal to some, especially if you live in a city but for us country folks cities can be pretty intimidating places.

Now since I was about 15 I have been OBSESSED with Ancient Greece, I fell for the actor who played Ares in Xena Warrior Princess and that was it for me. In the days before the internet I would spend hours in local libraries researching the mythology and during this time I discovered the Parthenon Marbles (otherwise known as the Elgin marbles after the man who aquired them). My favorite Goddess has always been Athena and these were taken from her temple The Parthenon in Athens and brought to London, where they are displayed in The British Museum.

The British Museum

As a general lover of history this seemed like a great day out, the only issue was who do I go with? The more I thought about it the more I realised that if I went with someone else I would have to consider them and what they wanted to do….or I could go on my own and do whatever I want. WIN!

Rather than drive I decided to take the train so I could really enjoy the day, it also came in at Euston which is only a few minutes walk from the museum.

I had some lovely conversations with people on the train down to London, all complete strangers and learned a lot about my own limits just taking this small step. I am now looking to travel abroad on my own….potentially….possibly….at some point…maybe….

Something I hadn’t realise until I was working on my itineray for the day was that the museum has an app. It contains tours and information about the collections that you use once you are their via your headphones. I got so much more out of the day by using it and managed to get around more of the museum than ever before because of it.

I completely forgot they have the Rosetta Stone!

Once I walked into the museum I loaded the app, initially I chose to go through the Roman galleries at the top which took much longer than I expected because of the app. I realised just how much I would have missed if I hadn’t used it. I did spend a lot of time weaving in and out of school groups in this section which would have been a nightmare without my head phones, who knew kids could get so excited about the Romans!

Bronze gladiators helmet from the 1st century

After this I headed to the Egyption galleries, always very popular due to the size of some exhibits and the shear amount and quality of the mummies. Not so many school groups here but still busy with tourists, like myself, trying to get a feel for a place most of us have only seen in films. Th Egyptian galleries are close to the marbles so I probably rushed this a bit, I didn’t even use the app!

Three of many mummies

After this I couldn’t wait any longer and made my way to the Parthenon Marbles. When I entered that room I glanced around, they are displayed as they would have been on the upper part of the temple and so go around the edge of the room.

I actually got star struck and had to sit on the floor

I spent the next two hours in this room, with the app, learning everything I could about them. The stories they told, how they could tell which parts had been sculpted by different artists, the way they identified specific characters and most impressivly from my perspective, the level of detail in them. Not to mention the condition they are in after two and a half thousand years!

The detail in the Parthenon Marbles is incredible, you can see the veins in his face!

This demonstartes the dedication of the ancient artist to his Goddess as these sculptures were always going to be 10 meters in the air, the details could not been seen by any human once put in place. Another example on the pediment is that they have detail on the back which was going to be against the wall of the temple, again, never to be seen by human eyes. The pride and talent they had in their work blew my mind and made the day unforgettable (until two months later when I went to Athens to see the Parthenon itself and the remaining marbles, thats another blog though).

Portion of the east pediment of the Parthenon Marbles

I had the best time at the museum I know it wouldn’t have been nearly so much fun or so rewarding if I hadn’t been on my own. Your never to old for a little adventure (whatever that looks like to you) and, at the risk of depressing you, 40 isn’t even halfway through your adult life. Think about how long you’ve been working and how much work you still have ahead of you, life might actually start at 40 so plenty of time to get that bucket list in.

Lots Of Love Kel xx