Sherlock Holmes

After watching Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams' recent remake of Sherlock Holmes, and listening to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes on my iPod before going to London, I had a particular itch to visit 221B Baker Street, where today there is a Sherlock Holmes Museum. This fit in well with visiting the British Library and the Charles Dickens Museum, as there were pretty close to each other in the Bloomsbury and Marylebone sections of London.

It turned out to be what my traveling companion called "the British equivalent of South of the Border." However, it was a fun, if kitschy place to go. I enjoyed it, though I don't feel like I'll need to go again next time I go back to London.

What was really funny to me is that the museum is a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' house, and when you head up the stairs with your tour group, Dr. Watson greets you in the parlour. What threw me off, as I was expecting an in-character speech about, perhaps, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life in the neighborhood, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes to this day, and any other historical tidbits about Holmes and Watson (Read: I was expecting to LEARN something). So, when Dr. Watson asked if I wanted to pose for a picture with him, I was completely caught off guard, and didn't even think to hand my camera off to someone else. My friend, though, snapped a picture of Dr. Watson and me, which I don't yet have a copy of. Once I do, I'll be sure to upload it. So, Dr. Watson was simply there for photos and not to answer any questions, which made me chuckle.

After the photos, we were free to roam the two or three floors of the home, set up like Doyle describes in the books. The top floor had mannequins depicting many of the short stories I had read, but they freaked me out a bit and I didn't take any pictures of them. I did, however, get this bust of Sherlock Holmes.

If you're planning to go to London and you love Sherlock Holmes, I would recommend going. If you aren't much of a fan, I'd skip this and go to something that you know you'll love. Anyway, I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad that every time I hear Sherlock Holmes from now on, I'll think of the cute little Dr. Watson who still makes me laugh. After I came back from London, PBS came out with a miniseries of Sherlock Holmes which I've heard great things about. I still haven't gone online to watch, but I hope I will soon.