V & Lola See London, V & Lola See France...: England Swings Like a Pendulum...

Not sure whether that's true, but the London Eye does go round and round. When we saw the eye at the beginning of our walk today, we were sure it was out of order. We saw it from Westminster and the Parliament area and even as we crossed the Westminster Bridge to Millennium Park, we were still convinced it wasn't working. It wasn't until we walked to the entrance of the Eye that we saw it was moving. It goes so slowly (half hour rotation) that we couldn't tell it was moving from far away. Going to the Eye was actually the last part of our day's adventure but once we got there, the line was short so we decided to go. Going around is not the scary part--it's the getting on and getting off. The Eye never stops; it just slows down so you have to jump on and off as it moves, making sure to mind the gap. It does have the best views of London, especially the Parliament building since that's the only place you can look down on the top and see its design.

A Car at the Top of the Eye

We had beautiful weather for most of the day, until a few minutes after we got off the Eye. We took the subway to Buckingham Palace and walked around St. James Park; we happened on the horse guard area where it was just our luck that they were changing the horse guard. The horses are all black except for one white horse in each group; the two guards on the white horses seemed to report to each other, probably about what was going on at the Palace and on the whereabouts of Baby George. Great recommendation from Greg Hudson, but after the summer, the changing of the guard occurs only on alternate days so we were just lucky.

Changing of the Horses

Then we went on to Parliament and Big Ben. And yes, we were there at noon, in honor of Cindy Talbot, but we didn't call her to let her hear it bong 12 times. We could have--there are those red phone booths every 10 feet in that area, although no where else in all of London that we can tell.

Proof we were there at noon

After that, we toured Westminster Abbey which is spectacular. Included in the price of admission is a free audio guide. When the lady asked what language we wanted, I said "English, but it must be American English." She didn't seem amused...she replied, "It's got to be English English, but I'm sure you'll enjoy it anyway." I'm often not fond of those guides but this one was informative and didn't drone on and on. Since it was lunch time, we ate at The Cellarium Cafe in the basement of the Abbey where, in the 14th century, the Cellarer (whoever that was) supplied the monks with bread and ale and managed the Abbey's bakery, brewery, and mill. It's now a delightful cafe serving a beer called Saint and a variety of food. We just had sandwiches with the traditional chocolate mousse for dessert (our tradition, not theirs).

We noticed lots of school children on tours of the Parliament area. They wear slightly different uniforms but almost all are wearing neckties. It's delightful seeing children looking so prim and proper, as though they are well-behaved.

Speaking of well-behaved, that was not the case with the soccer fans who got in our car as we were going to dinner at Leicester Square this evening. We don't know what team they were rooting for since we couldn't understand their accents but they were singing, "When the blanks go marching in," while jumping up and down, causing the car to shake.

Speaking of accents, we're doing fine with the Brits here in the heart of London but notice they are not doing well with our accents. Whenever we ask a question, there is a 10 second pause while the listener registers what we're attempting to say.

It rained fairly hard as we walked around Leicester Square this evening but the place was jumping, maybe because there seems to a casino on every corner. We went there to buy tickets for cheap to see King Charles III tomorrow night. Not so terribly cheap, but the man first told us 59 GBP and then said he could give them to us for 39. Through Open Table, we found a recommendation for an Indian restaurant that serves "authentic Indian, not drowning with hot chilis" as so many offer. The food was superb; I was especially impressed with my lamb; very tasty. Then, we went back to our royal abode.