Day 2: London

Good fun again today! Started out with a traditional English breakfast which worked well for lap-banded me (meat, more meat and an egg) then we were off to the Tate Modern to meet up with my friend Mark (he's married to my good friend since 5th grade Kellie). Together we all took in the Tate - alas, the 5th floor was closed which had stuff Mark & I were both disappointed not to see - but the Rothko room alone was worth the trip! From there, we walked along the Thames river to the London Eye which we then took a spin on...mind you, a $25 spin - all agreed it was a good, cool thing to do once. Only once though. A highlight for me was this conversation:

Mark (staring out directly at Big Ben) says, "What time is it?"
Amy says, "Um, yeah, there's a clock right on that tower...do you see it?"
I stood by, amused.

After a quick panini for lunch, I was elected to guide us on a walk in the guidebook that took us past Big Ben, the Parliment, Westminster Abbey and then on to Trafalgar Square. Seemed I did a decent job, even though no one tipped me... Amy opted for a siesta at this point and Mark & I carried on to Soho - I kinda wanted to see it in daylight; Mark hadn't been. We bummed around and then met up with Amy for dinner back near our hotel - Mark hadn't had fish'n'chips yet and is flying home in the morning, so we had some good (cheap) pub food.

It is really nice traveling in an English-speaking country, though I almost feel like I'm cheating! It's just so easy to do everything and though it does feel absolutely foreign, there's just a level of comfort that comes with being able to read every sign and ask anyone a question without beginning with "je regret" as I will have to in France.

Anyhow, here are a few quintessential tourist shots for you, along with a photo of me I actually like (above), and one of Mark and I that Amy took (good job Amy)! Also (separately, below) posted are just some shots I took that I like. As they say here, cheers!