2004.09.04 in London

Had a buffet breakfast at our hostel - cereal and bread - this is amazing considering how much food costs here. This morning we went to the Monument - a giant -surprise- monument to remember the fire of 1666 that burned down the city. We then walked down the London Bridge, bought postcards, and walked down the riverside (of the Thames River) to find our lunch that day - a seafood fair in Hay's Galleria. That was some great fresh seafood and and area to just chill. Then we walked further down the riverside to walk onto the Tower Bridge which is close to the Tower of London (where the crown jewels are!) but we didn't go into either attraction as the admission prices are insane. We bused it over to the British Airways London Eye which at first looks like a giant ferris wheel but is a very slow moving observation attraction. From here, Big Ben and the parliament buildings are very visible and we crossed over to them and Westminster Abbey. It was Sunday so many of these were closed or closed early that day. We walked past the New Scotland Yard where we saw the first London police officer with a gun. This guy not only had a gun but also some automatic machine gun protecting the back of the building apparently. We were pretty close to our hostel so we got back and napped while my dying digital camera's battery recharged... For dinner we decided to check out London's Chinatown and when we got there realized that food there wasn't any cheaper and walked around to Piccadilly Circus again. We tried to find some famous bar called Wag but it either closed down or was renamed to something else as we couldn't find it on the street it was supposed to be on. Walked on further down Oxford Street to Oxford Circus but it was late so this other shopping district wasn't busy and the locals were becoming drunk and London police sirens were busy. It wasn't even 10pm yet!

Interesting notes: We stumbled upon a large grocery store called Sainsbury's and it had a better wine selection than your local LCBO; Starbucks are everywhere here; it appears that Burger King is more popular than McDs; and car windshields carry either the driver's insurance or permit of some kind...

Learning the Language: sidewalk = footpath; take out = take away; yield = give way