Sunday, May 9

Bright and early, I went on a coach tour ("coach" means "bus"). Wifey, Newbie, Two-Shots-Up, O.D., Thrill, Big Show, and I got on the same bus. All-The-Way and Killer ended up on a different bus. We went all around London, with some colorful and comedic commentary from our Blue Badge guide, Brian. Our driver was a man whose name sounded like "Sookie" (rhymes with "rookie").

Things we learned:
- There are sometimes plaques on buildings to commemorate the buildings' connections with historic famous people.
- London's population is officially 7.5 million people. But you don't have to register in any way to live in London... Therefore, the (unofficial) population is realistically more like 10-11 million.
- There are 33 boroughs and two cities in London (the City of London and the City on Westminster)
- Apparently "Summer's been canceled this year." (It was warm in April before we got here, and right now it's grey and chilly.)
- "MPs" are "Members of Parliament" (Important for us to know, as the election was the day we got here.
- Because of the hung parliament (i.e. none of the three major political parties has the 51% in parliament needed to push agendas through), the Pound has just gone down in comparison to the Dollar. (Right before we left, L1.00 = $1.56... On the day we got here, L1.00 = $1.53... And now L1.00 = 1.47)
- The Australia House was used as Gringott's Bank in the Harry Potter movies
- When the Brits talk about defeating Napoleon at Waterloo, it is appropriate to join in on saying "hurrah".
- Sometimes good deals come about for the London Eye, so look for them and go then. (He also joked that at dawn, the Eye is powered by a giant hamster called "Fluffy")
- "Big Ben" is the name of the bell inside the clock. The tower is called "The Famous Clock Tower".
- There are giant lions in the center of town that tourists often get their pictures taken on. The locals think it's hilarious to watch the tourists accidentally sliding off the lions.
- The word "tips" came about because the owner of a shop in London put a jar on the counter that said "To Improve Promptitude of Service".


Things we saw included:
- Aldwych street
- Australia House
- Royal Courts of Justice
- Temple Church (which was in The Da Vinci Code)
- St. Paul's (and the statue of Poor Queen Anne, who bore 19 children who all died before the age of 12 and became a drunk. It inspired a poem: Brandy Nan, Brandy Nan/Left in the lurch/Her face to the gin-shop/Her back to the church.)
-Fleet Street
- changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace
- Millennium footbridge
- the Globe
- the Tate Modern
- the Tower Bridge
- the Tower of London
- the London Dungeon (which Brian called "Madame Tussaud's on steroids")
- The Famous Clock Tower (which contains a bell called "Big Ben"... but apparently the tower is not called Big Ben)
- Westminster Abbey

I can't even remember the rest right now.

I ate some vegetables from Sainsbury's (the closest grocery store) for lunch. Wifey and I hit up Wagamama's (an asian noodle chain in town known for its cheap ramen dishes). I got a baked cheesecake with passionfruit glaze that was AWESOME. Wifey got chicken ramen, duck dumplings, and coconut ice cream.

After that, I uploaded 190 photos to my computer and facebook. At some point, I'll try to put some on here, but it takes FOREVER to get things to upload on most websites (like this one, for example... but for some reason facebook is faster).

Then Wifey and I went to Shepherd's Bush to see a concert (we bought tickets for it when we were in the USA). We didn't really care about the headliner (Owl City); we went for the second opening act: A Fine Frenzy. After some ticket complications (long story short: never buy concert tickets from international sellers on eBay), we got into the show. We stood pretty close in the stalls (i.e. the Orchestra/mosh pit area).

After A Fine Frenzy (which is really just a woman named Alison Sukol and her backing band) was done playing, I suggested that Wifey and I leave (since we didn't care about Owl City anyway, and all the teenage Owl City fans there were quite annoying) and try to meet Alison.

We talked to many people, and jumped through some hoops before we found a way to send a message to Alison through a security guy. Wifey wrote her a poem:

"Dear Alison,
We loved your show.
We're from the States.
Out the stage door
Your fans await.

Love, [Wifey] and Angela"

And then... ALISON CAME OUT AND MET US!!! She was sweet, and lovely, and wonderful. We got our picture taken with her, and were incredibly successful at not seeming like insane fans. We said goodbye to her, and as soon as we rounded the corner, we started jumping up and down and screaming. SO COOL.

Wifey and I got a late dinner at Bar Italia off of Soho Square. I got a really fantastic panini, and she got a great pizza.

Two-Shots-Up told us about a great show she saw called Psy. It's only running for one more week, so I'm going to try to see it Tuesday or Thursday if I can.

Classes start tomorrow. I can't wait!

:)

~A~