We’ve started sightseeing… Check out yesterday’s visit to Westminster/Whitehall. We’re going back there today and might even grab a tour bus. We’re so touristy.

There have been a couple requests to date: The first, for ‘click here to enlarge’ images, won’t be done until we get back… I will clean up all these pages for the sake of posterity and add full size images. For the lucky ones, you might even get a slide show!

The other request was for Pub Pictures. I haven’t been taking my nice camera out with me at night, bringing along the little Canon instead. I don’t have a CF card reader, though, so those pictures will have to wait until we get back… sorry.

Love,
-Gabe and Maya

We were pretty rough around the edges from staying up past 4 am the night previous. We got a pretty late start, but we did our most touristy touring so far. The tube ride from Hampstead to Chering Cross was uneventful. Above ground, it was pretty chaotic. Unfortunately, there are a lot of construction projects going on in the sightseeing part of town, so when we walked past Trafalgar Square, we didn’t even realize it. We wandered around until we saw Big Ben and made a b-line right for it. Photographing our way across the Thames, we saw the London Eye, a giant ferris wheel that goes really, really slow and is smack in the middle of London. We realized that we had to eat some lunch and found a little Pannini cafe nearby. After that we walked back over to the Eye and bought a ticket. It was £ 11 each, but it was one of those tourist destinations that seems neccessary when you’re… well, a tourist. We rode the slow, giant ferris wheel in a big plexiglass pod with only 1 other couple. I got some nice photos from high up above London and then it was done.

In the London Aquarium building (actually called County Hall, I think), there is a Dali exhibit, but it was closed, so we’re going back tomorrow. We walked back across the river and looked at some gardens and statues and monuments on our way back to the tube stop.

When we got nearby, we realized that we were indeed right next to Trafalgar Square and the Victory Arch, so we took a look and some photos and then rode the train back to Hampstead.

Chriff had just ordered pizza, which we ate and then left for a short tour of the local traditional-style pubs. First we went to The Flask, a pub owned by Young’s, who makes one of my dad’s favorite beers. I had a double chocolate stout for him and then we walked to a much more lively pub called the Holly Bush. We were only going to stay for a half-pint, but it was too fun to leave that early and we ended up closing the place out (which is only at 11 pm, if you recall).

We went home and went promptly to bed! Tomorrow we’re going to look around Westminster Abbey, the Dali Museum, and maybe ride a tour bus around (so we can find out what we’re looking at).

Bye-bye,
Maya & Gabe

Maya at a Pannini cafe. She doesn’t look hungover.

Big Ben

Parliament

Touristy part of town.

Maya at Trafalgar Square

Victory Arch