Today was my second-to-last day of class.  I can't believe it!   Things have gone so quickly, and I'm going to miss this whole experience so much.  I'm really thinking about completing the final essay and getting credit for the course even though I was originally auditing the class (I don't need English credits for my degree).  We discussed essay topics today, though, and writing something so self-governed and analytical would be a wonderful challenge for me.  We also looked at "Jeckyll and Hyde" in class today and connected the gothic tale with the Ripper murders. It's all so gory! "Jeckyll and Hyde" really is very dark and rather sensationalist, but it's wonderfully written and it explores multiplicities so well.  Fascinating.

After class, I took the tube to the Tate Britain museum.  I'd browsed the modern section a bit last night, but I didn't really get to see any of the other art.  I'm so glad I went back!  I spent a couple of good, solid hours just exploring, and I stumbled upon such paintings as "Lady of Shalott," "The Cholmondeley Sisters," and the picture that's on the cover of my mom's copy of "Middlemarch."  :-)   I really liked the Pre-Raphaelite paintings; the colors are so vivid and the scenes are so alive.

Once I’d gotten my fill of British art, I decided to visit the Dickens House Museum.  I had been battling with myself all morning.  Should I go?  Should I really spend four pounds on admission?  I finally decided that, if I didn't visit Dickens' home, I would regret it forever.  After all, how often does one have a chance to tour the house of one's favorite author?  One might well ask such a question, mightn't one?  And one would be a fool not to indulge oneself and spend a few pounds to one’s satisfaction!  Wouldn’t one agree?

So one--I mean I!--rode to the Russell Square tube station, emerged onto the street, and had absolutely no idea where to find the museum!  I ended up walking into a little shop and asking the nice lady at the desk for directions.  I was doubly rewarded for doing so; the lady knew exactly where the museum was AND she was selling Lion bars!  Crystal has been raving on and on about Lion bars ever since we arrived in London.  I really thought she was hallucinating because I haven't been able to find Lion bars anywhere.  But here, in this out-of-the-way spot, I struck gold!  I purchased one bar for forty pence, and experienced pure joy.  ;-)   Lion bars are basically caramel-filled wafers dipped in chocolate.  Crystal was right; they're delicious.

As I walked down the streets toward the museum, I passed a children's park with a "No Unaccompanied Adults Allowed" sign.  I was intrigued and peaked through the gate.  The park was filled with all sorts of jungle gyms, and a large mechanical elephant was threading its way through the crowd with an exotic-looking Arabian princess on top.  How exciting!  It's too bad that I was an unaccompanied adult.

I finally reached the museum, engaged in a brief battle with the big, green front door, and made my way inside.  After paying four pounds for admission, I had the whole house almost completely to myself.  It was thrilling just to stand in the actual home where "The Pickwick Papers," "Nicholas Nickleby," and "Oliver Twist" were penned.  Wow!  I began my exploration in the basement where I watched a short film summarizing Dickens' life and had a peak into the library (literally wall-to-wall with books!).  Then I wandered through the upper three floors, trying to give myself time to soak everything in properly.  I saw all sorts of wonderful things:  Dickens' sitting room, decorated and arranged exactly as it would've been when he lived there (with his very own arm chair and everything!), Dickens' writing desk and quill (I touched them with my own hands!), an original sheet from Dickens' first draft of "The Pickwick Papers," paintings of his wife and children, and several odd knick-knacks that inspired descriptions in his novels.  There was also a room dedicated to Mary Hogarth (sister to Dickens' wife, Catherine), who died there when she was only 17.  Apparently, Dickens was very close to her and didn't deal well with her death.  The house was also decorated with etchings from Dickens' original novels and filled with informational plaques, etc.  I really enjoyed my time there.

By this time, it was almost 5:00, and the science museum (which I’d also wanted to visit) closes at 6:00.  I thought about just returning home on the tube, and then decided to make a mad dash for the museum!  I wasn't a bit tired, and I didn't have anything to lose.  :-)  I arrived at the museum around 5:30, so I was able to browse for a half hour.  I'd figured that a science museum would be pretty boring anyway, but as it turned out, I was completely wrong!  This science museum is beyond incredible.  It has gigantic model airplanes and rockets hanging from the ceilings and huge displays everywhere.  It seems to be geared toward children, and the entire basement level is filled with rooms and rooms of simulators and interactive science displays.  And the exhibits continue five levels upward!  I'll definitely have to return tomorrow when I can explore more thoroughly.

When the guards finally kicked me out of the museum, I took the tube back to Victoria Station.  I still didn't feel like returning home, though, so I decided to go window shopping.  I ended up waltzing into two clothing store and trying on dresses just for the heck of it.  I adore British fashion.  It's so chic and classy and feminine.  Light, summery dresses are in right now, and I love 'em.

After that, I ran to Sainsbury's (I always want to call it Safeway!) and picked up some rolls and fruit.  When I saw that strawberries were on sale, I began salivating.  Now I have a carton of fresh, British strawberries in my fridge!

And that, my good people, is that.  Thanks for reading!