London

It was a long plane ride but we made it! All went pretty smoothly from start to finish with one little hiccup at the airport in London. We were to have a representative from Cosmos (the tour company) but no one was in sight. We finally got it all figured out and made our way to our hotel. The hotel is very nice. The rooms are cozy and the beds believe it or not are quite comfortable. Needless to say we had no problem falling asleep it was staying asleep that was a challenge. With an 8 hour time difference it will take a few days to readjust our internal clocks.

The weather was very humid but no sun and no rain so NO complaints here. Today we did a walk about all over London. We started about 4 miles north of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben and walked all along the River Thames.

We started at the Tower Bridge (descriptions are from the Seattle times) this stately bridge with neo-Gothic towers has become a symbol of London. There is a 1,000-year-old fortress on the north side of the river. It’s so hard to believe something that old exists especially since we tend to tear down everything to build something new. We managed to find our way all around the back streets once over the bridge and were able to really get a feel for how the locals get around town. They WALK! That is when they aren’t taking the tube or riding the bus.

Next we were on to HMS Belfast The World War II battleship, moored permanently in the Thames, is now a museum. The warship was part of the war's D-Day landing. We did not go on the ship but it definitely looks like it had to be a part of World War II.

From there we were on the Southwark Cathedral One of London's oldest Gothic buildings, the 13th-century. It was pretty amazing to see the Architecture and detail in the Church. Behind the church was Borough Market, one of London's best specialty-food markets that's been at this site for more than 250 years. It had a feel similar to Pike Place Market. This place had and food and beer everywhere. It was odd to see so many people standing around drinking beer on the streets.

Then on to The Golden Hinde, The 120 foot ship is a modern replica of the 16th-century warship in which Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world. It's now a museum (in the past it's taken sailing expeditions, including to the Pacific Northwest).

We then went on to The Clink Prison Museum. This grisly little museum recreates the dungeon like feel of one of the 1,000-year-old prisons of this area. The Clink is believed to have gotten its name from the chains and manacles that prisoners rattled; it was the origin of the term "in the clink" — meaning in prison. Visitors to this reconstruction — the prison closed in the late 1700s — descend steep stairs into dungeon like cells where instruments of torture are displayed and moans come from waxwork figures. It was pretty amazing to read about the types of torture they use to inflict to these prisoners. Apparently they use to burn the prisoners with a hot iron. If 3 days later the burn was healed they were innocent. If the burn was worse… they were then considered guilty. That is just one example of many that they used. Thank god we have progressed further than that!

Then we were on to Tate Modern art museum. Once the disused Bankside Power Station, this massive 4-million-brick riverfront building, with a 325-foot-tall chimney, has been turned into the Tate Modern art museum. It's been stunningly successful; more than 30 million people have visited the museum since it opened in 2000, and it's helped revitalize the Bankside neighborhood. Its collection ranges from Picasso and Matisse to Surrealist paintings and pop art. I have to say this was not one our favorite spots. It was way too crowded and anything worth checking out had a fee involved so… we moved on to the Oxo

Tower Wharf. This 1920s-era industrial building, with a distinctive Art Deco-style tower, has been converted from a derelict meat warehouse into upscale restaurants and designer shops plus apartments.
South Bank / Royal Festival Hall. The riverside walkway becomes a broad promenade here, with benches and old-fashioned lampposts, plus street entertainers. This was pretty cool. If any of you have been to Victoria… this is similar. There were jugglers, painters, human statues and any entertainer you can possibly imagine out looking to make a buck. We had a good time taking a peak.

And last but not least…The London Eye. This observation wheel, like a Ferris wheel but with dozens of glass-enclosed pods holding about 25 people each, stands on the river's edge. The 443-foot-tall ride gives riders majestic view of the city and countryside as it rotates; walkers can look down on what they've just explored along the Thames. This was pretty cool. It was also a bit freaky. It felt as though we would fall right into the river. We held on tight and took lots of pictures. Hopefully we will figure that out soon so be can share all the wonderful photos of our day.

We ended our day with a trip to the local pub for dinner! Certainly not cheap but always entertaining. We enjoyed a great meal with great conversations with the locals. As we were leaving… a really drunk British man approached us and did not want us to leave. After a brief light hearted conversation about soccer… He said to me “smell my neck” when I turned towards him he gave me a big old kiss on the lips. I was not offended just caught off guard. We had a great laugh to say the least!

Well… Off to bed we go, were up early and on to Brussels. London was kind to us and we look forward to coming back soon!

Keep looking for photos. We hope to have those posted soon!