Today began just like every day has with breakfast down on the ground floor of the hotel. After getting breakfast, it was time to take the London Underground to our destination for today; the Victoria & Albert Museum. The walk wasn’t that far from the station and when we got inside, we headed to the exhibition that was planned for us for the day, which was Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion. This exhibition shows the work and legacy of influential Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, with over 100 pieces crafted by ‘the master’ of couture, his protégées, and contemporary fashion designers working in the same innovative tradition. There were two floors to this exhibition, which allowed for it to be less crowded on the ground level. On the second level, videos were shown of the artists that had made the pieces that were being displayed, allowing for the viewer to get a deeper explanation and see the artists thought process. Once finishing the exhibition, we were allowed to walk through the rest of the museum, where they had more clothing, historical artifacts, and lots of jewelry. It was incredible to see all of the history that was displayed at this museum. I was really fascinated by seeing all of the incredible history that I wouldn’t have learned in the classroom. After walking through the museum, it was time to head over to the Natural History Museum that was right around the corner. We were to expect that this museum was an example of bad wayfinding and our expectations were met.
When first walking into the museum, a pamphlet with a map of the museum is given to you. When you look at the map however, it’s not what you’d expect. When looking at the map, there are a couple of things that are off. First, there is no 2nd floor put onto the map, even though there are 2 floors in the building. Second, they had used the same icon for multiple places (such as the gift shop logo for not only the gift shop, but the dino store as well). Finally, half of the icons that were provided were not used on the map itself. This was a surprise to me since I would expect that a museum like this would have a better wayfinding system. Also, when trying to find the exit, there were signs pointing everywhere which made trying to find the exit a lot harder than it should of been. Only when we asked a worker at the museum is when we were able to find the exit. After finally leaving the museum, it was decided that the little group that I was in would head over to the Tower of London. Before that though, we went to Wagamama and it was delicious!
After our food break, it was time to head into the Tower of London. It was decided that we would go with the guided tour, which allowed us to learn about the history of the property. I believe this was the right decision because it allowed us to gain information that we probably didn’t know about before. After receiving the guided tour, it was time to adventure off into the the rest of the tower. When looking around, I thought it was amazing on how long this iconic landmark has been standing. The most fascinating thing about walking through the Tower of London was being able to see the Crown Jewels. Being able to see so much history in one small space was amazing. Also, all of the jewelry that was on display was jaw dropping. All of the gold and silver that was on display made me think about the rich history that was right in front of me. This made me appreciate my time being here and lucky enough to be able to see all of this. I would give today an 10/10 rating which comes down to a 52/50 so far.
