Northwood Hills Hotel London

... so we were able to zip around all over the place. What an amazing system! 13 different tube lines and 23 bus lines. We never had to wait either - not even for our national rail connection or bus back to the Cotswolds!

Our first introduction to London was a very good one. Popping out from the underground, we were right beneath Big Ben’s Tower. Wandering around we took at look at the London Eye, the Thames ...

... to view the exhibition of armor that had belonged to King Henry VIII. (It is on display in The White Tower, the imposing symbol of William the Conqueror's power.) This armor collection was remarkable both for its preservation and for its illustration of the shifts in cultures since Henry's 16th century reign. No one any longer considers jousting a viable sport.

The Tower ...

Our trip has been really amazing so far, even with all the RAIN and WIND and JET LAG!!! Despite all that this is the best idea we ever had!!!
The rain limited our adventure the first couple of days, but there is always a place to sit down and have a pint or a glass of wine. Kevin is really liking his "John Smith" pints.
We spent a whole day touring as much of London as we could - Trafalgar Square, The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Sherlock ...

... Palace and headed towards the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We stopped and had a pub lunch on the way complete with English cider (I love it!), and also popped into St. Martins in the Fields (a well-known Christopher Wren church) and got to hear a small orchestral group rehearsing. Very cool! We spent the rest of the day in the National Gallery gazing at its amazing collections. It houses some of the most well-known paintings ...

... bag over your shoulder like that!" Ha haha my bag is now bigger then me and it was 14kgs when i flew over and now its 17.4kgs (this does not include my small backpack that attachs which i assume to be like 6 -10 kgs!! ) So when they are togethers its not too light!! ha ha I got another chuckle out today when walking to the underground to get to the airport, a guy saw me walking with my bag and was like " gez, it looks like you have a kitchen sink in there girl!" ha ha ha ha ...

... countries, been on 2 organised tours, meet some very very nice people, drove in Finland, drove in Ireland. Caught up with friends and family, and mastered to London Tube. Who ever would have thought. Will I cope being back home? Will I cope being on my own after being surrounded by people everyday for the last 7 weeks? Do I have to start work :-( You know you love me XoXo See you all soon

... been dying to try in England. Delicious as expected! I learned that "chips" are equivalent to thick-cut steak fries, "fries" are regular McDonald's size fries, and "crisps" are what the British call potato chips. Interesting lingo! Stuffed with a hearty dinner, we set out for Jessica's flat where we took a little siesta. Later that night we decided to go out to a bar/club where Jessica knew the DJ. The place was tiny, but it was really nice and located in the shopping ...

... still staying at a Travelodge but a different one to before, closer to King's Cross and St Pancras Stations. We snagged it for just £29 and found it to be nicer than the other, having been more recently refurbished. As far as we knew the Spice Girls concert was starting at 6:30pm, with no time printed on the ticket we had nothing to really work with. To be sure we took the Tube to the O2 Arena in North Greenwich, arriving around 6:20pm. As it happened the doors were opening at 6:30, so ...

... least the smell of the chicken - accompanied by coconut water (for an extra kick, stick a shot of rum in the coconut - fun for the whole family!) Although I have plenty to see and do in my area, I did not get much of an opportunity to really explore and enjoy the local sights purely because I moved in on the Friday after I arrived and started work on the Monday. And any time I wasn't working seemed to be sucked into oblivion by ongoing battles with the ...

... and landed in a pub with a pie, but that¡¦s part of the fun of being a tourist in a foreign country ¡K you just never know where you¡¦ll end up. We then walked off our meal through Leicester Square and Covent Garden, both coming alive as it got closer to dusk and the evening theatre performances. The ticket sellers doing a bustling trade for last minute tickets to all major musicals. We think we might even head back tonight ourselves to see Phantom of the Opera. We have ...