Ramblings

Ancient Rome, how beautiful is this. I love it when the week just goes the way you want and everything turns into wonderful. I have spent the most inspiring week roaming the hallways of old buildings to peer into the past and let my imagination take me to a world that differs from my own. 

Imagination is a gift of sight taking us outside our own existence so that we may experience if only for a moment in time the lives of those who came before us. That is the gift that museums offer you. And if you take your time and peer into the displays you will glimpse something so special it touches your soul.

Ancient Rome is the most amazing city and the people were strong, powerful and full of life. My journey back in time occurred at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford. I walked into the building because I had a couple of hours to kill before I had to catch a train and it was the most interesting thing I have ever experienced. The walls and cabinets were full of artefacts of ancient Rome. Sculptures of Olympus towered in one room and busts of ancient Romans, men and women littered the hallways throughout the building. The cabinets were full of pottery and the utensils that made up the daily lives of another world. The displays sparked my imagination. And beautiful it was.

To add to this I then spent this afternoon at University College London roaming a couple of museums. One caught my interest straight away because it housed egyptian artefacts. It was the most surreal afternoon and the artefacts were magical. The etchings on the stone were hieroglyphs and some were coloured. Other tablets were unfinished which made for interesting viewing because you could see how they were made. And let me tell you the egyptians drew the outline of the hieroglyphs before they carved. Yes folks they used the basic art method of sketching before painting or in this case carving. It was extremely interesting and I will have to return because the battery on my camera had died and I couldn't take photos. 

On that note it is now late and I need to retire because tomorrow I am off being a tourist. My friend and I are taking a day tour to Stonehenge, the Georgian Baths and Windsor Castle. Fun is afoot.

Life is good!