Day -1

The morning started out with an “English Breakfast” The dollar is still in the dumps compared to the pound. About 1.70 to the pound. breakfast as seen in this delicious plate is 8 pounds. Can't wait to leave. Today we were going to hit a museum but the weather was nice so it was a hike of fortitude. about 4 miles.

Started out at Cleopatra's needle on the embankment

Over to Whitehall where the gov buildings are located.

15 years ago you could walk up to 10 Downing Street and take a photo. Those days are long gone and now you can't even see the door from the street because the street is blocked off.

At the Horse Guards Parade - playgrounds we saw a statue of Lord Kitchner. He was one of the players in India at the turn of the last century (1900's) I have part one of his autobiography on my desk at the office. I think he passed before he got to part 2.

Got to hear Big Ben ring out 1100. The wife thought the parliament building was the palace. It is a rather ornate building.

Westminster was closed as it was being invaded by scores of scouts and guides. So I got a couple of shots of the flying buttresses and the gargoyles on one side.

Next stop was Buck Palace. This time the comment to me was good grief they live here. It looks like a government building not a palace. Well rest assured I bet it is palatial on the inside! Queen Vicky has a garish memorial to herself there in the middle.

Met a Bobby from Rosemead. Small world. As it was getting near noon the masses had gathered fro some pomp and circumstance. We waited for the big parade and then continued onward.

Between Green Park and Hyde Park is a memorial to a few wars.

We continued our journey across the full length of Hyde park. At the end of the park, across from the Albert Hall is a monster of a memorial to Prince Albert. Around the four corners are miniatures of key points in his life. Conquering the subcontinent of India, Africa...

Finally at the far side of Hyde is a 1912 sculpture of Peter Pan

The afternoon ended at Nottinghill when the tube stopped running. Not having a compass and getting totally turned around we started walking north instead of south. I knew I was turned around so we hailed a cab and called it a day.

can't wait to leave to pic up our daughter.

Last night the wife commented “Do you know how long it has been since we went out to dinner on a Friday night?” Yeah at least 3 years. Guess what it will be another long time before it happens again. Come to think of it this is the first “vacation” we have had since the kids came. Nice but I am ready to get back to my children.

No update tomorrow as it is a fly day.

Day -2

It started out rough when at 0300 we had to go to the hospital because a certain medical device malfunctioned. I was a bit perturbed to say the least as this device had malfunctioned in the past. It did it again. Unfortunately the hospital does not have the same machine as the wife however they said we could get a manual version at a local 24 hour pharmacy. So a walking we went. plunked down 25 pounds for a hunk of plastic. It works but not that well. Later in the morning we went to an electrical shop and they were able to set us up with a proper transformer, another 25 pounds but the wife is happy.

The plan for the day was to hit the crown jewels at the Tower of London, visit the bones of Sir Thomas Moore. The place has changed dramatically in 15 years. They have tackified it. There used to be a sense of pure historical magic. Now the magic is separating the visitor from his wallet. It faintly reminded me of DizzyLand, where you leave a ride and there at the end of the ride is a souvenir shop. Leave the Jewel Vault welcome to the SS. Finish with your visit to the armoury, here is the SS. Tacky.

Afternoon was spent around Picadilly Circus, most of the old book shops from 15 years ago are gone as are the old pubs. The whole area is undergoing a revitalization and some of the charm is getting lost to the yuppie high end. Ah, we did go down Saville Row where all the haberdasher shops are located, swank. Getting geared up for India we had dinner at Khan's of Kensington.