Something Old, Something New September 7, 2006

The breakfast area at the hotel this morning looked like a refugee soup kitchen. There were people of all ages, genders and colors packed in to the small room. The breakfast offering was comprised of corn flakes, pre-made toast, un-toasted bread, coffee and juice. Fortunately our room is right across the hall from the “banquet hall” so we scooped up our helping of each dish and moved back to our room. Holly had bought some fruit at grocery so we supplemented the hotel fare and ended up with a decent breakfast.

Our stay in London will be all about being tourist. We want to see all the things that we have heard about all our lives plus a few we haven’t. We caught the “tube” (London Underground or subway) and rode to the Waterloo stop and then walked to the London Eye, the cities newest hot ticket. We were fortunate today to have clear weather and enjoyed outstanding views of London during our thirty minute ride. The eye is set on the Thames across from Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace etc. The glass bubbles hold about 25 people each but allows plenty of room for moving around and viewing. When you reach the apex the gondola is about 135 meters or almost 450 feet in the air. It may not be fast but it’s quite a ride.

We walked along the Thames to Lambeth Bridge which is about a kilometer from the Eye and the point of the more familiar view of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. We crossed the Thames and found lunch in a small local restaurant. We were going for a pub lunch but the business crowd had beaten us to it. That’s OK because Selmo’s chili smothered baked potato, while maybe not traditional English fare, fueled us for an afternoon of intense sight seeing.

Westminster Abbey was next on the list. This is a place that I had never given much thought to except for the occasional mention in a novel or history book, but it will move you. Home to royal coronations, marriages, christenings and funerals, burial place for kings, queens, poets and scientist. This is the last 1000 years of English history encapsulated in a building. Every English monarch, with the exception of two, since William the Conquerer in 1066 have been crowned here and most of them were buried here when their time came. This is a place that you have to experience for yourself to truly even begin to understand how Britian became the world power that it is.

After the Abbey we made our way back to the hotel and took advantage of a cinema that is located around the corner. Please remember the next time you go to a movie that in London the tickets are US$16.50 each and the popcorn and drink were US$8 each, but even at half that price we still would have paid too much to see “You, Me and Dupree”.