(re: London question) I love museums, historical sites, anything related to movies/books, etc.
Camden Market
The Natural History Museum, the V&A and the Science Museum – all very close to each other
Hatchards, the oldest bookshop in the UK
Gay's the Word, the first LGBTQ+ bookshop in the UK
Waterstones Piccadilly, the largest bookshop in Europe
The London Dungeon
The Shard, for unbeatable views
Derelict London walking tours, for a different side of the city
The Globe and the Sam Wanaker Playhouse – the latter does performances by candlelight
For book locations in London, I'd recommend the app Squirl, which gives you a map of the city and alerts you to nearby landmarks that feature in books
The Mail Rail
St Dunstan in the East, is a former Anglican church that was heavily damaged during the Blitz, with the ruins left as a public garden
Probably not open at the moment due to coronavirus, but you can sometimes get into tours of the deep-level air raid shelter in Clapham South
A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft in Newington Green, if you want to see one of the most controversial sculptures I remember being raised in London in recent years . . .
The Magnificent Seven – notable Victorian cemeteries where various historical figures are buried
Westminster Abbey is also the resting place of many famous people (including Elizabeth I, Aphra Behn, Isaac Newton, Anne of Cleves and Charles Dickens)
There are many lovely parks, but the tiny Postman’s Park is one of the more interesting and underrated, with its memorial to those who lost their lives to save others
So I know you love etymology and I remember you mentioning that “Arcturus” has a connection to bear and TIL that “Antarctic” basically just means “opposite of Arctic (i.e. bears)” which makes total sense lol but anyway now I’m wondering… what would Arcturus’ evil twin Antarcturus be like? 🤔
The opposite of Arcturus would be . . . a reckless, expressive, pissed-off mortal who doesn't like reading and can't hold her alcohol.