Chapter 2 - Once Upon a Time, In a land far, far away...

Tried my first oyster... see below:

Dr. Neville (one of my master's thesis committee members and my wonderful personal London tour guide (he lives just a little ways outside of London and met me in London to show me around and keep me from getting squished on the roads or lost in the city - THANK YOU DR. NEVILLE!) and I. We coated the oysters with lemon, pepper, and a bit of hot sauce, and then... slurp... chomp... chew... gulp! Hmmm... I think I just may have thrown up if the oyster was plain, but other than the texture and a bit of "fishy" flavor, the lemon and pepper and hot sauce were quite good! :-) What an adventurous day!

THE London Bridge... not really very glamorous actually, although I am very happy to say it did not fall down while we rode under it...

View of London skyline from the River Thames - You may notice a large number of cranes invading the skyline... just a little reminder that the 2012 Summer Olympics will be taking place in London, and they apparently want to make a good impression!

The London Eye - aka the largest ferris wheel in Europe

The London Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben himself!) (Left: the view from the Westminster Bridge - Right: the view from the River Thames)

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (continued)

Westminster Abbey

The story of the making of this Abbey is quite remarkable, and ancient - but I don't have time or room for it here, and neither do I fully understand it all. :-) What I do know is this is a magnificent building and tEherein lie the bodies of such notable people as: David Livingstone, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, William Pitt, Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Elizabeth I, and Mary Queen of Scots. Alas, I did not have the opportunity to meet or converse with any of the above. Perhaps I shall try to take time to do so on a future visit! :-)

BUCKINGHAM PALACE!

HORSES marching around Buckingham Palace (We're pretty sure they did that just for me - the timing was perfect! :-)

Had Chinese food in London's "China Town" for dinner. Mmmm.. duck!

Then we visited the "West End"and saw a most incredible production of "The Phantom of the Opera" in "Her Majesty's Theatre". It was fantastic!!!

After 14 hours of exploring London, it was time to get a couple hotel rooms and crash for the night! Amazingly (or not surprisingly?), I slept really well! (Thought I'd be a real tourist and model my new t-shirt too. Don't worry, didn't sleep in that shirt! :-)

The Science and Natural History Museum: if ever a museum was a "museum", this is it! WAY COOL, and definitely a place I would go back and visit again... and probably again!... and it's FREE! :-)

DINOSAURS!!! The skulls on the right were actually found in the U.S. in the states of Nevada and Montana I believe.

It was like visiting a zoo... but better. The animals held still and weren't depressed or pacing, and you could get a really good, close up view of them too! They had species from ALL over the world, and many animals I had never seen or heard of, as well as just about every kind I have seen or heard of! If I've never mentioned it before or let on, I REALLY like animals! :-)

Hanging from the ceiling and stretching across the entire length of this huge room, was a Blue whale skeleton! (As well as several other whale skeletons. There is also a life-size whale model on the ground level - notice how small those people look? Oh yes, and I could not pass up getting a photo of the angler-fish. :-)

Made a quick stop to visit the Albert Memorial. Note to all my friends: you do not have to do something like this for me when I die... PLEASE

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The Royal Albert Hall

I only almost got squished a couple times for looking left before right (and I could be entertained by watching cars drive on the roads in London for hours! :-) ...Then it was time to take a taxi back to the train station for the ride back "home"... The taxi and train ride were very smooth and uneventful; just the way we like them! :-)

Cheerio, London! You were wonderful, and I hope we may meet again!