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Published: October 10th 2004
Big Ben
See.. There is actually some blue in the sky.By this time, Lisa had been visiting for a little over a week, and I had started my courses at Dauphine. We spent the first 6 days of her visit looking around Paris (see following entry) but we decided to take a weekend trip over to London. We only had two days, so we ran around like crazy people trying to see all the major sites.
Our first day was spent at Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the London Eye. We actually decided to take buses around the city rather than the Tube for two reasons. 1.Compared to the Paris Metro, the Tube is just about the slowest thing you could imagine (only slightly exaggerated) 2.As you can see from the photos, there was actually some sun, not all clouds; we got a better tour of the city from the buses.
Westminster Abbey is cool; all the memorials / tombs are something to see. It is actually pretty sad to see how much damage has been done to the outside of the building as a result of pollution / acid rain. I’m pretty sure they are in the process of restoring it though. The London Eye was also really neat,
Tyler and I at the Tower Bridge
We finally got him to let us take a picture. He can be so stubborn. although we had to wait in quite a line. I had already been on it before, and quite honestly, I don’t find the London skyline that impressive, so I spent a great deal of the time playing with the zoom feature on my video camera. I could zoom in on individuals and see what color shirt they were wearing from all the way up at the top of the Eye. It was cool.
Then we decided to eat a late lunch, and were reminded about how much the food sucks in England. No offense to anyone who lives there, but if you are not accustomed to the food, your in for a shock. We actually had a rather unpleasant encounter with a fast food manager who refused to reimburse us for a pine tree flavored dish (Chinese food?) of which we ate only one bite.
Next we were off to the tower of London, but we were too late for the last tour. So, we decided to put that off until Sunday. We finished off the night around Piccadilly Circus with some shopping. Yay! Lisa and I bought some Lancôme makeup. We got a free gift. It was
Westminster Abbey
The pretty side. At least that's what I think. fun.
Sunday was somewhat shorter because we had to be out to the airport for a flight home that evening. So we started the day at the Tower of London, which is really neat. Anyone who goes there should wait around for one of the tours, the Beefeater’s are hilarious. We saw the crowned jewels, which were very pretty, even if a little over the top. It’s funny, on the way in and out of the rooms where they are displayed; you have to literally walk through an open vault door. The idea even made me a little claustrophobic. After that we headed over to Buckingham Palace, which we could have enjoyed a little more if we hadn’t put off eating so long.
Then we headed over to a nearby pub, Lisa got to try fish and chips, and we had a very yummy dessert. (I guess not all the food is bad) Then it was off the airport. For the short amount of time we had, we saw a lot and had a really enjoyable break. It was nice to be somewhere where they spoke English for a change. French can be so exhausting.
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