Our last full day in London became quite the history lesson. Being in a place with sich a rich past and so full of heritage gave us (read: me) the opportunity to come to grips with a bit of the past (which is nigh on impossible in Australia).

Our day started at the British Museum. This place has been named inaccurately. A better name would be the World Museum. Although there was a section on British history (swords, 12th Century chess pieces etc.), the vast majority of the collections were from elsewhere around the world. Nearly every civilization was represented in some way (although I didn't see any Aboriginal artifacts). Some of our favourite sights included the Rosetta Stone (the key to reading and thus understanding the heiroglyphs of Ancient Egypt), the gigantic Horse from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos (part of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), the magnificent head and torso sculpture from Easter Island (his name was Hoa Hakananai'a - try saying that after a few beers), and a full set of Japanese samurai armour from the 1500-1800s. Sjane was captivated by the staggering collection of mummies and tombs from Ancient Egypt, while I stood in awe looking at Burials 20 and 21 from Cemetery 117: dated around 11 000 BC, these skeletons are the oldest evidence of large scale human conflict in existence. An amazing morning of historical exploration, and even better; entrance was free! I'm not sure on what basis Britain lays claim to these artefacts of significance belonging to civilizations worldwide, but it does make for one very comprehensive museum visit.

After this, our afternoon was given over to exploration of the Tower of London. This is another poorly named attraction... the thing's a bloody castle! Smack bang in the middle of London. I had no idea London was so full of cool stuff! Here we had a guided tour by one of the Yeomen Warders (a.k.a. Beefeaters), stood dumbfounded looking at the Crown Jewels (Queeny is rich as f***!), and learnt a whole bunch about Medieval British history (from adultery to executions to knocking off competitors to the throne - G.B. had a lot in common wirh Game of Thrones!). It also afforded us elevated views of the beautiful Tower Bridge. We watched the sun set over the bridge, before a dusk rendezvous at St Paul's Cathedral.

Here we found out the night before, the Tower of London played host to the Game of Thrones premiere for the new season. I can't believe we didn't hear about this beforehand!!! Imagine that! Hanging out in a freaking castle watching Tyrion piss everyone off!

The night was spent strolling across Waterloo Bridge. It is perfectly positioned to see everything from Big Ben and the London Eye to Cleopatra's Needle, and across to the Shard and St Paul's Cathedral. The lights glittered on the River Thames and I decided that we've really been spoilt for cities of late... Lima, New York, London... all this epicness (not a word, I know!) is exhausting! Someone's gotta do it! :D