Have I just about disappeared on you in the last week? Yes, but I promise by this weekend my reveal will be worth the wait for those of you who have been on the bag hunt with me on this trip. Yes, Paris has been productive. But no, it’s not what we thought…more on that when I have photographic evidence!

Today I’ll share with you one of the best things you can do in London for free, and that’s going to any of their great museums. For a museum geek like me, London is right up there with Washington, DC; Paris; and Dallas in terms of the sheer choices and excellence in art education. I promise it won’t be painful.

First up is the Victoria and Albert Museum, dedicated to art and design and located in South Kensington:

It has one of my favorite entries, especially with the gorgeous Dale Chihuly chandelier in the rotunda,

The museum is not too huge/overwhelming, and on certain weeknights there are fun events planned for the public. There was live music (followed by karaoke singing I kid you not!) on the one night I went, and the rock band was set up right in front of this exhibit:

One of my favorite museums in the whole world, however, has to be the British Museum. I get goosebumps just entering its courtyard populated by massive Ionic columns:

Just how massive?

Even if you can’t find a single thing in here that interests you (which I find impossible), I think you’d enjoy just standing in its enormous space on a sunsoaked morning…

I have a confession. When I was still contemplating a study in archeology, I thought one day I’d become a Mrs. Indiana Jones if Billy Idol never came around. Those two were my types. Years later when types went out the window, I still wondered why I didn’t pursue a career in archeology, anthropology or even museum administration. But life often takes you far away from what you thought you wanted.

Anyway, the British Museum has an amazing section on ancient Egypt; I wasn’t kidding about the Indiana Jones thing … I could see myself going on a dig:

But after all, I am a girl, and it’s also about the bling…

History and cultures of the world are artfully represented here,

I’d say take a day to loiter through the building and enjoy the interesting facts included in each exhibit’s description. Did you know that based on the kind of damage to the teeth found in those mummies above, mostly likely caused by the hard grains they chewed on, scientists believed most Egyptians back in Ramesses II’s time lived with excruciating dental pain basically all their lives?

So today I’ll leave you with this one photo I snapped after leaving the museum:

Looks like someone else had a successful bag hunt!