Birthday Celebration at the Sir John Soane Museum

Tuesday was my birthday : ) It's the second birthday that I've celebrated while living in London.

My coworkers surprised me with a cake, card and gift. It's a nice tradition in my office that on birthdays everyone contributes a little money and signs a card. Then in the afternoon, we gather around the person's desk and sing happy birthday to them.

After work, Aaron and I headed to the Sir John Soane's Museum. Every first Tuesday of the month they open it up in the evenings and the museum is lit by candlelight. I've been wanting to go for a while now, but only 200 people get in and it's a popular event. People queue about an hour before you're allowed in and you have to be there in person to get the ticket.  Unfortunately, Aaron usually doesn't get done with work early enough to make it in time. But on my birthday, he couldn't say no : )

Sir John Soane was an English architect. His most famous work was the Bank of England but his home also received a lot of attention for his unique collection of art and antiques. Now the home has been converted into a museum in the heart of London and is exactly the way Sir John left it.

There were a couple of levels to the strange house. The bottom floor actually looked like a crypt and was a bit eerie. The middle floor had a room that was covered in paintings. Once inside, you can open the walls to reveal more paintings and more paintings almost like a secret hiding place. That was the coolest part about the visit. You could walk by the room and never know!

After the museum, we went to a neighborhood French restaurant. The owner was incredibly nice, food was delicious and the entire place sang me happy birthday (even the other customers in the restaurant!)

28 was a fantastic year and I can't wait to see what 29 has in store!