London! Natural History Museum Edition

Today I ventured out of the Pimlico area where I've been cat-sitting since Thursday for possibly the most amazing lady I've ever met.

Here's what the area looks like.

And a few blocks away.

Natural History Museum

The museum was amazing. Like many of the museums here in London, it is FREE. So, definitely worth a visit if it's raining cats and dogs. My visit was slightly marred by the masses of screaming children, so maybe bring earplugs. Seriously, it sounded like they were being eaten alive by the stuffed exhibits. (If only...)
Highlights of the day were the massive collection of rocks and minerals, dinosaur fossils, and the Spirit Collection which was tucked back into a corner and I nearly missed. I wish I had known about the tours at the time I was there, I might actually go back to do one.

There were rows and rows of these specimen jars behind glass.

Pickled snakes, anyone?

I totally want to decorate my house with specimen jars now, whenever I get a house again that is.

Who is that adorable little guy? Oh, just a vampire bat. (If they sold these in the gift shop I would have purchased one on the spot.)

Dog-Sitting in Ilkley

I'm finally in England. The people are polite, but not overly friendly. At least it's pretty here, and the pets I'm caring for are well-behaved.

This is Tiny

That's what he does 80% of the day. He's pretty much the best dog, ever. Except that he totally judges me if I try to stay up past 11 at night. He harumphs at me until I head to bed.

This is what our walks normally look like.

A pretty park.

Look! A dog not pulling on his lead! What a sweetie.

Cool footbridge over the river.

The river is up a bit from all the rain.

Yesterday's Morning Walk

The fog actually made it look brighter out than it would have this early in the morning. Usually it looks quite dark out as the sun doesn't rise until 8:15 and we go out around 7:30.

Yesterday's Evening Walk

Can fog be gorgeous? This fog was.

By the time we got near the river the fog had reached epic levels of spookiness. I had a truly horror-movie moment when a guy materialized out of the fog just in front of me asking if I had seen his lost dog. Let's just say Tiny and I had a very brisk walk home after that.

In other news, I think I've just about assimilated. I keep finding mostly consumed cups of tea around the house.

The Necropolis

So, because I'm not a huge fan of partying I didn't enjoy Glasgow very much. (My fellow travelers at the hostel here in Oban assure me Glasgow has fantastic warehouse parties.) Originally, I thought I'd stay there for a week then go to Oban for a day. Two days were plenty for me in Glasgow, but I think I could stay in Oban forever. I did enjoy my tour of The Necropolis though. It was a gorgeous cemetery patterned after the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Here are the highlights:

The Outside, Northwest corner

Ghoul Gate near the entrance

Weeping Angels. Don't Blink. 

The best-preserved monument I saw. Many of them were missing pieces, leaning, or had fallen over. This one was nearly perfect. It was also about 20' tall. 

Glasgow isn't always rainy, here's proof. 

More Weeping Angels. I think I was being followed. 

The variation on monuments even next to each other was amazing. 

Saw this on my way from my hostel to my guesthouse. This was before I saw the Weeping Angels. 

This is just outside the Necropolis, seen after the Weeping Angels. 

The really odd thing about The Necropolis was the smell. I kept smelling men's cologne as I walked around it, both inside and outside the cemetery.