Day 1: London

      There's nothing quite like having scalding hot tea dumped on you by a grouchy businessman.  He was attractive and dressed very sharp, but clearly he was unhappy about being crammed into economy class for the six hour flight.  Hey, if he was great at his job, he wouldn't be stuck back in economy class; maybe that's something he should work on.  Fortunately for me, this terrible situation happened only an hour before we landed so I didn't have to sit stickily and unhappily on the plane for too long.
      We knew arriving in London at 8 a.m. was going to be difficult, but we definitely underestimated how exhausted we would end up being.  We took about a half hour to get cleaned up and put our things away in our rooms.  

My tiny hotel room!

      The time difference gave us a swift kick in the rear and we trudged forward.  We made our way to the British Museum, which conveniently happened to be mere blocks from our hotel.

      The weather cleared up and by the time we finished the tour, the sun had come out and the birds were singing.  The interior of the museum is cold, sophisticated marble.  They had exhibits on everything from mummies to the crusades.  We only had a couple hours to wander around and that was not enough time to see it all.

Library of Enlightenment Texts

      We walked to Trafalgar Square, which ended up being a further walk than anyone anticipated.  We spent some time relaxing by the fountain, watching workers set up for a concert of some sort. 

      One of my favorite places in the city is the Jubilee Bridge.  I'm not one for bridges that cross over water (especially not the Thames), but the view from the Jubilee is incomparable.  It was a good spot to visit on our first day so everyone could get a glimpse of the Eye and Parliament.

We didn't actually eat there but it's Sherlock Holmes!

      Next stop: Bath!