London

We are at the Hounslow Library near Heathrow Airport and have finally found a computer to update our trip. We arrived in London early Sunday morning after flying all night across the Atlantic. We dropped our bags at our B&B in Hounslow and took the Tube into London to meet our friends Elaine and Jennifer. The Tube stops about 1/2 block from our B&B. Nice way to get around. The 4 of us first had lunch and then boarded a WW2 Duck vehicle. They took us through London, giving us a quick and humorous explanation of what we were seeing. They say the English have no sense of humor. We have found that "they" whoever they are, are wrong. We've thoroughly enjoyed our tour guides. We then drove down to the Thames River and motored passed Big Ben and Parliament, etc. This was all done under clear, sunny skies and about 35-40 degrees. Had dinner in a cozy pub at the base of Big Ben. It was a great day!

On Monday (rain fell early but had stopped by the time we ventured out. Still between 35 and 40 degrees), after our Indian host served a full "English" breakfast, we hit the tube again and met Elaine at Charing Cross Station, in London and had tea at St. Martin's Cathedral in Trafalger Square in the crypt before we started out for Buckingham Palace. We took the double-decker bus passed Scotland Yard and got as close as we could get to the Palace and then walked the rest of the way. We walked the Queen's Mall and fed the ducks, swans and geese along the way. We stopped at James Park for lunch including a hot mulled wine and pumpkin soup :) and ended at the Embankment on the Thames. We then boarded a Clipper Catamaran (the public transportation along the Thames) and made several stops in places we've only read about in books like Shakespeare's Theater, London Bridge, Tate Art Museum... We ended this part of our cruise at Greenwich. This is where east meets west (look it up if you don't understand what Greenwich Mean Time is). We visited the Royal Navy College, the Painted Hall and an awesome Chapel. After this fantastic time we boarded the Clipper back to the Embankment and had dinner at another great pub on Trafalger Square. A few sprinkles fell on us during the day but otherwise we were dry (amazing for London - two dry days in a row!). Then back on the tube and another try at catching up on our sleep. We're currently 9 hours difference from home!

Tuesday morning started the same way. All London is abuzzz with the Coronation of Obama. The weather is cloudy but dry and chilly. We met Elaine again and had coffee and tea at Starbucks! We boarded the Clipper again and disembarked at the Tower of London. We spent what was left of the morning and early afternoon touring this 1000 year old, historic castle. Historically the royal jewels, crowns and gold are kept here as well as armour, historical records and even animals before the London Zoo was started. The queen lived here at one time. The area has a full history of events. After checking this out we boarded the train and accepted Elaine's invitation to visit her home in the country for tea. We traveled out to York (the end of the train line) with Elaine telling us mile by mile what we were seeing. Early evening we found our way (without Elaine to guide us - scary!) back to London and Trafalgar Square to try yet another pub for dinner. We found The Old Shades, a pub built in 1873, where we had a delightful dinner. We shared an entre called "Toad in the hole": Yorkshire Pudding with Cumberland Sausage, fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy. What a treat! Then headed home on the Tube again to try to catch up on sleep :)

Today we've given Elaine a day off :) She's been such a great companion, tour guide and friend on this adventure. She and Jennifer stayed with us this last summer when they visited Alaska. We are off to TelAviv tonight (10:30pm) and will arrive there around 6 tomorrow morning. This will put us about 11 hours off Juneau time.