Look kids, it's Big Ben.

Luckily, Greg arrived before I did on Friday and figured out where the hotel was, how to get there, how the underground worked ... because by the time I got in last night, I was totally exhausted and brain dead and just needed to be told what to do. I slept like a log last night.











We got up at a decent hour today, and stopped at a coffee shop for breakfast. We got our Oyster passes (after a painfully long wait in line), and then headed into town. We walked by Parliament and Big Ben, and then headed for the London Eye. The line looked a bit daunting, but actually moved pretty quickly. It was really cool - very smooth, and with great views. Afterwards, we stopped for a quick snack - a sweet Wonder Waffle.


Today was probably the warmest day that we're going to get while we're here. It started a little cloudy, but after we got out of the Eye, it cleared up, and was sunny all afternoon.









After the Eye, we went for a bit of a walk, past Tony Blair's house (he was in a meeting and couldn't take our call), and the horse guard. (We're saving Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard for another day.) We wandered to Picadilly Circus and had lunch at a place called Tiger Tiger. It was mostly Asian cuisine, and mine was a bit spciy. Kind of frustrating that I couldn't get a glass of water until I was halfway done with my meal. Makes me think the American tipping system may be on to something.

All of the Irish pubs have been packed all day, as it is St. Patrick's Day. People wearing silly hats and spilling out of bars onto the sidewalks. Makes me feel old. I still remember going to the "Cheers" bar in Boston with Isabelle on St. Patrick's day right after we both turned 21.

After lunch, we went to HMV, a CD/DVD, etc store and found lots of good stuff. We got a bunch of CDs - some were used, some were new, but somehow altogether they averaged less than $10 US each. We got Johnny Cash, Counting Crows, Eric Clapton, Tracy Chapman, Sarah McLachlan, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, James Blunt, KD Lang... finally we had to leave before we found any more!






We wandered towards Covent Gardens, a big market apparently. It was packed and hard to look at anything without getting shoved. There were also a bunch of street performances going on with big circles of people watching. I never quite figured it out, but there were lots of Punch and Judy references on buildings and in the guide book. Finally managed to get this picture in a quieter alley ... where we found the best chocolate chip cookies ever!



By then we were exhuasted, and came back to the hotel and took a nap. We woke up around 7pm, and went for dinner at an Italian place called Zizzi. The area that the hotel is in is really great. It's nearly residential, but right around the corner from an underground stop. We're in Kensington, near the Earl's Court stop. It's got a very 'neighborhood' feel and is mostly residential, with a bunch of little restaurants and shops on the main road. But not nearly as crowded and overwhelming as downtown London. Our hotel room is tiny, but nice. We've got windows that open onto a small garden courtyard behing the hotel. I knew nothing about the hotel or area when I picked them online, so we got pretty lucky.

Tomorrow is our big tour day -- we'll be gone all day to Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds, and Stratford-upon-Avon. Can't wait!