Day 3: touristy stuff + theatre!

We headed down to the (relatively) new jubilee park area. The main purpose of this was to take a trip on the London Eye, as well as to see those well-known tourist spots.

As you can see, it was rainy again. London weather, of course. Actually, it was much worse than normal London weather; there was some lightning and thunder. And the hotel ran out of umbrellas, so I guess I should have let Jerry buy the Prada one. Anyway, Jerry didn't feel good either, but he tried his best to keep a smile on.

Anyway, way up on the Eye, we had a fantastic view of the important bits of the city. Which is great, because that will help me segue to what we did next.


We passed right by Big Ben, then attempted to go into Parliament, but they weren't open to the public until 2:30 for a debate, and the guard by the door warned us that during debates there's often a very long queue to get in. (Look at me, using British words like "queue".) Instead, we hopped right across the street to Westminster Abbey.


It was interesting. There were lots of famous British folks buried or commemorated there, not the least of which included Dickens, King Edward I, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary, Mary, Queen of Scots; and others. Also plenty of stone and stained glass. They charge quite a bit to get in and don't allow photos inside (full monopoly on photos inside the church there), so I only have the one outside shot. But, supply and demand: there's only one 1000-year-old church in London, and plenty of tourists wanting to see it. It included the oldest "functioning" door, which was from the original section (consecrated by Edward the Confessor just before he lost to the Normans in 1066 AD; William the Conqueror was the second guy coronated there).

Anyway, after that, we headed off to get lunch at a place called Inn the Park. British food, to be precise. I gave in and had fish n chips.


I felt sick to my stomach later, but it was worth it. After lunch we saw the Churchill Museum and the War Cabinet. Basically, they turned the bunker from which Churchill ran the English part of the second world war into a museum. It was pretty cool if you're a history buff. They also try to portray Churchill in a more balanced way, including some interesting German and Japanese propaganda that made him out to be a nasty warmonger. But, most of it was, of course, very positive. I was actually surprised by how much they discuss the US involvement and its importance. I had always thought such talk was just US bias in the history texts. It's good to see the British perspective.


On our way out, we passed through Trafalgar Square, which had only a few pigeons. I guess the birth control campaign (and the ban on feeding the disease-infested birds) is successful.


Finally, we ended the day by seeing Wicked at a beautiful theatre near Victoria train station.


It was great. We were amused for a good three hours. Must be doing well; the theatre was full on a Monday night. The actors were great singers, though in some parts we couldn't understand the words. Well, we'll have more tomorrow! Halfway through our London escapades.