cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
OPINION | RICHARD MASON: How to be a traveler, not a tourist -Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
If you have visited London and have never been to the British Museum, you are no traveler. You are just a tourist. A traveler would be one who would venture down a dark alley in Florence following the smell of lasagna, and would certainly visit the British Museum, which has a great collection of loot.
Uh, loot? Maybe I’m being severe in my description, but don’t suggest that to the Greeks. They are pointing fingers and saying bad words about the Brits because, as the British will tell you, “We saved one of the great treasures of ancient Greece from being destroyed.” Those would be the Elgin Marbles, taken from the frieze of the Parthenon by the Earl of Elgin. That’s not quite the way the Greeks tell it, but one way or another, the Elgin Marbles are a star attraction of the British Museum. So, when assembling your London bucket list, put at the top: See the Elgin Marbles.
If you are a museum freak—like my brother-in-law, who reads every card description on every item on display—the British Museum will be your total trip, and you will need a service animal when you return home.
If you have visited London and have never been to the British Museum, you are no traveler. You are just a tourist. A traveler would be one who would venture down a dark alley in Florence following the smell of lasagna, and would certainly visit the British Museum, which has a great collection of loot.
Uh, loot? Maybe I’m being severe in my description, but don’t suggest that to the Greeks. They are pointing fingers and saying bad words about the Brits because, as the British will tell you, “We saved one of the great treasures of ancient Greece from being destroyed.” Those would be the Elgin Marbles, taken from the frieze of the Parthenon by the Earl of Elgin. That’s not quite the way the Greeks tell it, but one way or another, the Elgin Marbles are a star attraction of the British Museum. So, when assembling your London bucket list, put at the top: See the Elgin Marbles.
If you are a museum freak—like my brother-in-law, who reads every card description on every item on display—the British Museum will be your total trip, and you will need a service animal when you return home.