A foggy day (or five, rather) in London Town

Hello from across the pond!

Since you probably don't want to read long rambling accounts and every single minute detail of what I've been up to, I'm going to keep things interesting by giving a few bite sized sections that highlight what I've been up to.

British Word of the Week: Tube: n., The subway system in London.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK:



The new guard marching up to Buckingham to relieve the old.

What I've been up to...in bullet points

TUESDAY:

• Arriving in London via Heathrow Airport
  
• Taking the tube for the first time en route to our hostel to check in
• Riding on an open air double decker bus tour of London
• Walking through the city on a tour leading up to the changing of the guard
  
• Actually touring Buckingham Palace
• Collapsing in our beds (jet lag, anyone?)
  

WEDNESDAY:

• Admiring the cultural treasures the Brits "acquired" from around the world in the British Museum (highlights: statues from the Parthenon, the Rosetta stone, countless Greek vases)
  
• Trying to appreciate art in the National Gallery
• Being chosen for a street performance in Trafalgar Square out of hundreds of people (most likely because I'm 6'6" and have red hair. I'm like a beacon. Mother was nervous because of my foot)
• Enjoying the highs (Beethoven Symphony #6) and enduring the lows (Reed-Thomas Violin Concerto #3) at the BBC Proms (a classical music concert series held at Royal Albert Hall)
  
• Taking a few wrong buses on the way back to our hostel late at night
  

THURSDAY

• Gaping at the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London
• A birds eye view from the top of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral (where Diana and Charles were were married)
  
• A Thames river cruise with borderline inappropriate jokes from our riverman tour guide
• Going to Herrod's and pondering who would spend 3000 pounds on a handbag
• Proms try two: Haydn and Schubert...a success!

FRIDAY

• Losing count of the tombs in Westminster Abbey after 100
• Taking pictures from the giant Ferris Wheel, the London Eye
• Sitting at Centre Court at Wimbledon
• Thoroughly enjoying the show Wicked from the far back

SATURDAY

• Seeing Beethoven's scribbles on the scores at the British Library
• Learning about the bombing of London during WWII
• Watching a play in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
• Actually feeling confident about using the tube, right before leaving the city.

SUNDAY

• Missing our bus to Oxford - it turned out OK in the end
• Meandering around the cobblestone streets and quads of Oxford (most of the colleges were open due to a city-wide festival!)
  
• Enjoying a great meal at the pub

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK:

There were a lot of different things that we did, but the "mountaintop experience" was the second time that we went to the Proms. The seats were in a box relatively close to the stage, and we had a great view of the players. One of the works was new to me (the Haydn) and the other was familiar (the Schubert), yet it was difficult to say which I enjoyed more.

RANDOM SECTION OF THE WEEK: OBSERVATIONS ABOUT LONDON AND ITS INHABITANTS

• Sandwiches are bought for lunch and eaten anywhere
• Taxis are dark colored (black mostly), and are never yellow
• Most buses are double deckers
• People love the royal family like they are a lifelong family friend
• People aren't in as much of a hurry as they are in New York
• There are cameras everywhere (1984...???)
• When the national team qualifies for the world cup suddenly everyone thinks that they're going to win it all

Well, that's enough for now. Cheers until next week!