London Calling

What's that peeking through the trees? It's BIG BEN! Got my first real taste of this and other well known London monuments today including Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and the London Eye.



After a crazy lunch (don't try the Escalope chicken, don't politely hesitate while placing your order, and how dare you touch the food that was set in front of you!) a group of us set out for a little walk. Up a narrow street we found Benjamin Franklin's house and low and behold a tour was about to start. Michele and I jumped at the chance (she's from Philly, dontcha know). The house dates back to the early 1700's and still has all the original floors and most of the original wooden paneling and fireplaces. It was a truly unique and interesting experience to stand where Mr. Franklin himself used to work and play. Here are a few pictures.














Later we took a wonderful tour of Westminster Abbey with our tour guide Hugh. He knows so much about British history and the tour was incredibly interesting. We saw where many of the British royal family are entombed, included Elizabeth I. How cool. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Abbey but I did get a few nice shots of the outside. I also lit a couple of candles for my mother and grandmother. Well, on their behalf anyway. Figured they'd appreciate it. Still not totally sure what you light candles for though. Sorry Mom. Email me to clarify, OK?!





Next it was off to take more pictures of Big Ben then ride the London Eye. All 20 of us managed to get into the same pod. The Eye offered great views of London. I'm starting to really fall in love with this place!



Well, if all that amazing sight-seeing wasn't enough. Two very out of the ordinary things happened today. While we were leaving Westminster Abbey, we noticed three Maasai tribesmen were having their pictures taken in front of a black cab. They were all decked out in their traditional garb. Certainly an unusual sight in the middle of metropolitan London. Apparently, these guys performed at Obama's inauguration back in January.

Then later, after riding the London Eye, the group split up. Most of the group was heading to see the play Wicked, I however opted to head home. I decided to walk instead of taking the tube to take in more of the city and do a little shopping. I turned down the road leading to Leicester Square and ran smack into a movie premier in progress! It was for Johnny Depp's new movie "Public Enemies". I looked over the heads of the people in front of me and there he was...... Mr. Johnny Depp live and in the flesh!!! I bet everyone is going to die when I tell them. Unfortunately my camera died about 3 minutes before I got to Leicester Square, so I couldn't get any pictures. That's what I get for taking 120 pictures and 2 videos in one day! Regardless, I'm beginning to learn to expect the unexpected in this amazing city.

I'm waiting for everyone to return now. It's Nate's birthday today and I have a little surprise in store.

Check back to see what happens next!

I have arrived!

Here I am in jolly ol' London! My flatmates and I went exploring and discovered that both the British Museum and the National Gallery are only a few minutes walk away. I'm amazed how central our flats are to the major sightseeing destinations of beautiful London. We even stumbled upon an amazing view of Big Ben across Trafalgar Square! After walking around for awhile we found a great traditional English Pub, called The Tottingham, and sat down to a wonderful English meal. Most everyone had the fish and chips, but anyone who knows me knows that I skipped over that on the menu. I opted for the steak and stout pie and it was great! The portions were huge. I got to try "mushy peas" which were delicious. Sort of like a thick version of split pea soup (one of my faves stateside). Best of all the things we tried was the traditional English drink called Pimm's. It's a gin-based liquor that's mixed with lemonade (which tastes more like sprite than lemonade) and has strawberries and cucumbers in it. I have seen the light! We are all planning to have Pimm's at least once a day while we're here.



I'm sharing my two bedroom/two bathroom flat with 3 roommates (Michele, Merle, and Meagan - I'm already calling them the 3M's). Here is a picture of Michele and I's room. Of course this picture was taken before we destroyed it by spreading our belongings and gadgets all over every surface we could, including the extra bed. We don't have air conditioning (as is common in most of Europe) but the weather has been so beautiful we haven't needed it. It's been gorgeous so far. 75 degrees and blue skies. A far cry from the sweltering heat of Florida to be sure.



The light here is really different from Florida is making for some amazing pictures. Looking forward to discover more of this interesting city.