GREETINGS FROM LONDON!

Well, we officially arrived in one of the most recognized cities in the world and we dove right in - trying not to lose any of our touristy momentum.




We did some generic sightseeing to give Matt the over all feel of the city the first afternoon and then we headed to the Theatre - Matt picked the play of Phantom of the Opera and I was looking forward to seeing it again (this time in better seats!). We got our half off tickets and the show was wonderful and it reminded me how much I like the theatre.

Our hotel is in Earls Court area and a mere hop, skip, jump, marathon, and a freeway away from all of the attractions closer to the city's center - it was decent, but the one evening we did walk from Trafalgar Square back to the hotel it took us almost two hours.

We saw the usual sights - Big Ben and the parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, National Portrait Gallery, Hyde Park, Military Square, and the London Eye etc.

Parliament from the London Eye

National Gallery

St. Paul's Cathedral (from the Prayer Garden)

Westminster  Abbey

The famous Harrods Department Store lite up at night

And, yes - We visited the new M&Ms store (All 4 floors of it!)

Matt tried a few beers and we tried pub food. I think the pub may have just been off since I'd had excellent, full of flavour, fat, and carbohydrates food before in London and this certainly wasn't it! So... after that rather un-excellent journey into the un-famous English food world - we decided to eat something we KNEW London couldn't get wrong - Indian Food.

Note: The restaurant was found on one of the 'Cheap London Eats' sites and just happened to be vegetarian (score 1 point to Miranda) - it was good, if with slightly inattentive service - and Matthew even said that he was really good considering it didn't have any meat in it (2 points for Miranda). It did have cheese, however. (1 point for Matt)

One night we even went to the church just off of Trafalgar Square and listened to a quartet (two violins, a cello, and a wooden flute) play various pieces including two from Mozart by candlelight. It was beautiful and while it wasn't used, the church also had a lovely looking organ.

Organ Pipes (Before they turned the overhead lights off)

Matt and I enjoying the warmth (pre-show)

Next Up: England's Golden Circle (Well, what Miranda would consider as the Golden Circle)