Our first full day in London

Hello blog-readers!

This morning, after a bit of a slow start, we made our way out to visit the city. Before we left our hotel we had a full Irish breakfast, which we both enjoyed very much. In true London spirit we even had morning tea. It was just what we needed to start our day off right. After breakfast we headed to our tube station to travel to our first stop: Buckingham Palace to see the changing on the guard. We were surprised when we showed up that thousands of other tourists had the same idea we did. We assumed that with it being the off-season and the changing of the guard being rather touristy that we wouldn't have much of a crowd to deal with. The parts we saw were really neat. At various points the guards break off and march over to different parts of the gates. We managed (after some visitors lost interest) to snag a spot by the fence so we could see more of what was going on. A couple different times two guards marched over and we were able to take some really neat pictures. They visited with the crowd and laughed. What we found most amusing was the music selections. The band played a variety of songs. Imagine our surprise when we heard the theme song to Star-Wars, Thriller and the Rocky theme song. It was funny to hear visitors around us speaking in rapid French and then say thriller and hum the song. I kept laughing at the people behind us. It was really neat. We hope to go back when it isn't so crowded to get pictures of the Palace and the surrounding sights.

Afterwards we made our way back to the tube and got off at the Westminster station. We saw the Houses of Parliament in day-light, as well as Big Ben. We were off to Westminster Abbey. It wasn't hard to find. We did have to wait about 35 minutes, but it was worth the wait. Once inside photos weren't allowed, but it was beautiful. We got postcards with pictures of some of our favorite parts. At first I thought that people were on their cell phones and I was about to say something to Eric about it, but then I realized it was the audio tours that are handed out. You could pick the number that corresponded with an area on the map and listen to information about it. The audio guide was good and even threw in extras like map video on the screen, or listening to the choir boys sing.

Next we made our way back to the tube to travel to the British Museum. Our plan was to eat inside the museum. However, when we arrived we were told that there were no tables available. Eric and I both thought this was weird afterward because in America they will usually tell you there is a wait because they want your business. Instead, the lady just told us there were no tables now and sent us away. We tried popping into another cafe across from the Museum but it was full, so we back-tracked a little more until we found a cozy little cafe that had sandwiches and pub-grub. Eric had fish and chips and I had a hamburger and chips (french-fries). My food was okay and Eric really enjoyed his fish and chips. I wasn't full afterward so I ordered apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It was very good. One thing I'll add here is that Coke never seems to taste the same outside the US. We noticed it in Ireland and the same is the case here. At lunch our "Cokes" tasted more like mystery cola. Overall the food was pretty good and the atmosphere was nice. We headed back to the Museum recharged and ready to explore.

You enter the Great Court after the crowded entry-way. It is beautiful! We had the opportunity to take pictures of the ceiling in the day-light and when it became dark. It was really beautiful both times. We saw so many amazing things! I'm not sure even where to begin. I was most excited about seeing one of the Easter Island statues that the museum took from Easter Island, Chile. I hope to see on in person there one day. We also saw the Rosetta Stone, parts of the Greek Parthenon, Egyptian artifacts and mummies, and tons of neat Assyrian pieces. You could have spent much more time there, but we got tired quick and had to take breaks periodically to rest our feet and legs. We had afterall, been on our feet the better part of the day at this point. We tried to see some of the Chinese artifacts (mainly the Chinese terra-cota statues) and the Japanese Samuri armor, but both of these areas were closed off. After a quick stop at the gift shop to pick up some post-cards and a half-priced book about the museum we headed back for the night. Photos were allowed throughout the museum except on an exhibit here or there, so we have some really great photos of the treasures we saw!

We hopped back on the tube... may I just say here that the tube is a fantastic way to travel. We purchased Oyster cards, which allow you to put an amount on and travel until that amount wears off. After you spend a certain amount on travel in one day the amount is capped, so as not to charge you after a certain point. Eric is great with navigating too. I can remember how things look, but can easily get turned around from east to west. He has been great at figuring out which line to take, where to get off, and how to get us back. All of this has to be done pretty quickly, because it all moves pretty fast. Anyway... we came back to the hotel. It was about 7:30 by this point. Eric went down to use the free wireless internet in the lobby (we think its free in the lobby?) and I stayed in the room. I dozed off and was dreaming in no time. When he came back he woke me up and we went down to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Eric had a steak and I had a chicken breast. My chicken was great, but it was smaller than I expected. Both were served with chips (french-fries), which seemed odd for such a nice meal. Eric enjoyed his steak. He had to order the steak sauce separately, as it came as herb and garlic butter sauce or something else, not the traditional A-1. We swapped a couple bites and his was good. After debating about dessert we decided to save it for another night and came back to our room.

We were able to set up Skype on our laptop, which was really fun to use. It is easy and there was no delay or anything.

Alright, well we have a big day tomorrow, so I better get some sleep! We love you guys and hope all is well back home.