London

Hello Everyone-
Before I begin with London, I have to first mention a couple of things. First, I forgot to mention that I had my first white Christmas this year. It snowed on Christmas in Rothenburg. We sang the song as we walked through the streets. That was great.

Also, we last wrote before we had gone to New Year's Eve at the Eiffel Tower. The park in front of the Tower was packed with people and I enjoyed watching the locals and tourists stumble around. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of our New Year's Eve entertainment. We were expecting Paris, the Nation's Capital, to have a big party like you see other major cities around the world doing...but there was nothing, no live music, no countdown, and there were even no fireworks...just a few small ones set off by on lookers in the park. This was quite a disappointment, especially when we got back to our hotel and saw on the news the celebration in London. It was huge!!! I guess now we know.

We arrived in London via the Chunnel on the morning of the first. After all of our travels, and insistence that we embrace the different culture, languages, and food, we both had to admit that we were glad to be in Britain, where they speak English, serve fries with almost every meal, and we could read every sign and menu around us. We are staying very near the Victoria Train station in a small, family run hotel. It is basic, but very clean and nice. The breakfast is great and the people are nice. The first night we were here, the managers invited us to their apartment to eat a New Year's Day Dinner with them. It was great fun...we sat around the dinner table and talked for hours about differences in our countries, which amongst the guests included the UK and US of course, Poland and Sri Lanka, with ages ranging from 15-60. That was a wonderful way to learn about the different cultures in a casual setting.

Wednesday was our first real day touring. We went to two museums...the Tate Britain, and the National Gallery. We also saw Westminster Abby, Big Ben, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, and even the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It was packed with people, but from what I could tell, it wasn't all that exciting.



We started yesterday with a bang at the Tower of London. The guided tour was very interesting and entertaining. The "Beef eaters" are actually service men, having spent over 22 years in the military, they can apply to join the Yeoman Warders, also known as the Beef eaters. They actually live at the Tower. We saw the chapel inside the tower where Anne Boleyn, Katheryn Howard, and Jane Grey were buried...well, at least most of their bodies are buried there. We also saw the crown jewels and the national armory. Believe it or not, there is still a wing of the tower reserved for the Queen to stay, which is still watched by an armed guard.


After snapping a few pictures of the Tower Bridge, we headed to the British Library. It was surprisingly interesting. They had original drafts of works by Mozart, Beethoven, The Beatles, Shakespeare, and even pages from Leonardo DaVinci's notebook. The highlight of the exhibit were there original copies of the Magna Carta. Two of the existing four copies are displayed here.

The British Museum did not disappoint either. It was a huge collection of artifacts from all over the world, including pottery from 6000BC, sculptures from the Parthenon in Greece, mummies, and the Rosetta Stone. You would need a week to see all that it had to offer.

The plan for today...take it easy, eat at the usual pub (we can both eat well for between 10-15 pounds which is about 20-30 dollars) We are going back to a couple of places we want to see more of, and maybe catch a play this evening.

We leave early tomorrow morning for the States, and after a long day of travel and jet lag, will welcome comforts of home.

Love,
Melody and Dylan