London

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London. Cold. So very cold.

After a fairly cold welcome to the UK, we managed to navigate our way to the tube, take two trains on two rail systems and a cab, and made it to Lisa's studio apartment where we are staying and were very warmly welcomed and happy for it.

Our first priority in London was warmth. I was lucky and picked up a winter jacket on the first day here, but for Ali it has been somewhat more of an ordeal. Three days of pretty intensive shopping around at every department store in almost every suburb, borough and street of Greater London finally yielded a jacket that was not only stylishly fashionable but also in the right size and on sale. The problem being that there was only 'spring' jackets for sale, being that Londoners felt that the weather was quite resonable and was even warm.

In between the shopping frenzy we managed to sneak in a few sites. We've been to Big Ben and parliment houses, Trafalgar square, The National Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Convent garden, Soho, the museum of brand packaging and advertising (a single man's massive collection of advertising memorabilia) and we went on the London Eye.

The highlights for me though were the Tower of London - the only castle in London, it is the most heavily fortified area in London and houses the crown jewels amongst other things (which Ali was captivated by), and Westminster Abbey. Which almost didn't happen. When we got to Westminster Abbey I found there was an entry fee to get in which I was not going to pay, however Ali convinced me otherwise so I parted with the £12.50 and went in. Good decision. Westminster Abbey is basically the burial place or memorial of almost all the famous and royal British since the 12th century. Kings, Queens, scientists, poets, actors, religious leaders and heaps more including Shakespear, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. The best part was when I recieved my headphones for the audio commentary to discover it was commentated by Jeremy Irons! He's awesome. Anyway we thoroughly enjoyed the Abbey.

On Friday after a bus tour around London we met with some friends from Australia at a pub and had a few drinks. Apparently my body needs some time to adjust to pints, as I was rather unwell the next day (as Fieldy can confirm).

Tomorrow we are off to the country to see the country side and catch up with some friends down there.

Stu & Ali

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Photos

Buckingham Palace
Seems locked? Maybe they don't know i've arrived

Buckingham Palace
Lady sitting - Alison.
Fat man behind ruining the shot - Random Dude.

Maia Statue
Look familiar? we think we may have found one of Maia's ancestors. The resemblance is uncanny.
(The artist apparently modeled the lions from his own cat and dog)

Westminster Abbey
Impressive eh? (no cameras are allowed inside unfortunately)

Big Ben and Parliment Houses
As taken from the London Eye

Ali and Stu
On the London Eye

Tower Bridge
taken from the walls of the London tower

Manning the defences
inside the tower

Privacy please
Ali on a medieval 'loo'

Drinks at the Anchor
Christine, Stu, Ali, Lucy, Fieldy, Emma and Chris and Paul behind the camera