Front elevation of the British Museum from the Great Russell Street main entry. 29Oct07

A bit daunting to approach the museum and see this 30′ promo board covering the scaffolding behind it for the special Terracotta Warrior exhibit. It seems to dwarf all other segments of the museum.

Approaching without a long queue indeed. How lucky I am today!

Thanks to their free admission, gaining entry without first a long queue or wait time, helped ease the blow when I was alerted that there were no available “extra” tickets for their main exhibit. So, I spent the morning browsing their “Enlightenment” wings.

Ah! Just as I’d predicted. “SOLD OUT,” it says at the empty queue for tickets at the British Museum’s Terracotta Warrior’s exhibit, taken last week while in town. Why? Well, to start only 500 tickets are given to the first entrants of the museum – of course a line wraps around the museum grounds, then stretches onto Great Russell Street long before opening – so why would I subject myself to such disappointment?

Well. It’s true. As a museum donor, you can get first dibs on ticket sales, but not are always available on the same day. Was it worth negotiating, giving them my sob story of traveling from New York via London and Milano just to gain entry? Yes. Indeed. It’s typically our first stop to see what’s on view when the hubby’s in town, finishing meetings on The Strand or farther afield in Canary Wharf, but mostly it’s the best one-stop-museum-hopping virtually on the planet.

No matter, I didn’t grovel, but alas, it was too humiliating to stand there and offer my reasons for allowing me an extra ticket when others had traveled even farther that day. So, I missed out on this exhibit, but intend to return again next Spring for hopefully a better reception and with guaranteed tickets, preferably purchased online as a member instead. In the words of one of the BM’s attendant’s, “We are sold out until March 2008!” I can’t help but wonder, uh. Do you intend to extend the show any further due to overwhelming demand?

It’s always fascinating to see how truly tall the BM’s great rotunda library actually is.

Just wanted to add this photo to today’s journal entry. A gaggle of London school boys anxious to enter the Terracotta Warrior exhibit inside the British Museum’s great rotunda library behind them.

They were lining up for a photo-op for their parents and chaperone, who lined up behind me while I was reading the museum map, so I grabbed an opportunity and joined them.

As is typical. They won’t stay still. Restless little buggers! So cute! 29Oct07

It’s no surprise that once I sit down, no matter where I am, someone approaches and asks if I can offer them directions. Surprisingly, despite my American not English accent they listen and trust me given my passable knowledge of the local area. This woman asked first in Mandarin, thinking of course I was fluent however disappointed I replied, “Duibuqi. Wo bu dong.” I’m sorry. I don’t understand. So, of course. I couldn’t continue the conversation in Mandarin. In my key-word-only fluency, I managed to show her on her London map how to reach Trafalgar Square by pointing. Ah! The universal language of finger-pointing. Classic!

Of course, while I had the morning to myself, I couldn’t use my shorter-than-Steven’s one arm method to take a photo, so this is what comes out, while resting in the main hallway after exploring the south Enlightenment wings.

Feeling satisfied but still somewhat disappointed that I couldn’t view the main exhibit, I take a few more shots of the main floor.