day two: london

again... this is going to be quick and dirty. I have to buy time on a computer in a gift shop in 20 minute intervals.

Update: Now that we are home, I have been able to go back and provide a little more detail.

Today we were to meet a Scottish relative of mine to hand off some old family heirlooms. We got the message Friday night that she would be at the hotel at 10:30am, so we set the alarm. We overslept and got up 40 minutes before we were to meet her so no breakfast. Here is how the rest of the day went.

• At 10:30 am, we met Irene in the hotel lobby and I handed off the heirlooms. She asks us if we are intersted in catching the changing of the guard at the palace. In the winter, they only do the ceremony every other day.
  
• Upon leaving the hotel, we take the Underground to Green Park station. We walk across Green Park to Buckingham Palace just in time to watch changing of the guard. The crowd is huge, but we do get to see the procession. The guard is a little less flashy as they are wearing their long gray winter coats instead of the bright red ones. The tall black fur hats are present, however. I don't know why I am surprised to see they are carrying big, black M-16's with long, shiny bayonettes, instead of more ceremonial rifles.
  
• We head back across the park and down in the direction of Piccadilly Square and had lunch at Ponti's, an Italian cafe.
• We said our goodbyes to Irene at Piccadilly Circus after taking some pictures in front of the statue of Eros. From here, Robin and I walked to Trafalgar Square and saw the lion statues she had seen years ago.
  
• We cross the Thames to south bank where we walked and shopped along the south side fr a couple hours.
• Outside the Tate Modern (we'll see the museum tomorrow), we wander through the Frost Fair, a winter carnival of sorts with various food carts, games, entertanment, and a portable, artificial sledding hill.
  
• We hoof it back across the Thames via the Millenium Bridge towards St. Paul's Cathedral. This was first opened in 2000, but closed after a month when it was determined to be too "wobbly". It was reopened two years later after being reinforced.
  
• We peeked inside St. Pauls Cathedral, but since it was 45 mintes to closing we didn't bother with paying the admission. The view from the information satnd is still breathtaking.
  
• Looking for a pub offering chips and curry, we stop in Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This pub was rebuilt after the fire of London back in 1667 and was a favorite among writers over the centuries. It is a actually windy maze of a series of little bars with little hidden rooms with coal fireplaces. We can't find a place to sit and it is fairly smoky in here so we head back out.
  
• Across the street, we get out of the cold and order pints and chips in a Fleet Street pub called the Tipperary, which has recently celebrated its' 400th birthday. They don't offer curry sauce, but they do hand us a basket of different condiments, including brown sauce. This is not completely unlike Heinz 57, and tastes really good on chips (fries). HP Brown Sauce is apparently the official sauce of Britain.
  
• From the Tipperary, we walked all the way back to Bloomsbury.
• I do a little exploring while Robin is getting ready for dinner and find a cute little Italian restaurant in an alley called Cosmoba. It is almost completelty hidden by scaffolding being used on the apartment above it so it is very quiet.
  
• After dinner, we enjoy a few pints nearby at The Lamb, a pub that now stays open past 11! The Lamb also features a bar with snob screens - small, ornate glass shutters at eye level that can be closed if you don't want to see the bartender and then opened when it is time to order a new pint of bitter.
  

BTW, the weather both days has been crystal clear, although quite chilly and a bit breezy.

That's it for now.

Gavin