A tourist says moo

I just realized I haven't discussed my hotel yet. It's very English and I mean that in the nicest way. I'm staying at The Cadogan Hotel. It is famous for being the hotel that Oscar Wilde was arrested in for "acts of gross indecency with another male" in 1895. The hotel is celebrating the 115th anniversary this year. Kinda funny, doncha think?

The hotel is in the borough of Chelsea. This area is total high class. Down the street to the left is Harrods and Harvey Nichols; to the right, Tiffany and Cartier; with Gucci, Versace, Armani filling in the gaps. I'm the frumpiest person around! Everyone is dressed to the nines and almost every man I see wears tailored clothes. It really makes a difference. No "pants on the ground, looking like a fool" here.

My room is not too big, but it is extremely cozy. The bed is comfortable, the bathroom is all marble and clean and it has classic furniture. Not your typical Holiday Inn! They clean the bed everyday and they also turn it down for you at night. They even give you a nice goodnight note with famous quotes and the next day's weather. Charming.





The staff are excellent and so polite. They all know your name and they do everything they can to help. On Sunday I had my first breakfast here. It is not your typical continental breakfast. Tons of pastry's and fresh fruit salads and juices. Like fresh fresh. The dining room looks like it's out of a Jane Austin novel/movie with classical music playing. Seriously.

Now, about my first bus tour. I enjoyed the places I saw: Changing of the guard, St. Paul's Cathedral, Covent Garden, Thames river ride, Tower of London and the London Eye. But I didn't like feeling like cattle being shuffled along. It's not really me. I'm grateful I did it though, because I wouldn't have seen all those places.

The Tower of London was impressive. So much there and so much history. I could have spent half a day there at least (I only had an hour). I mean, this is the place that Queen Elizabeth I was kept and Anne Boleyn was beheaded with so many others. It's just cool. Then to see the Crown Jewels. Impressive. The scepter has a diamond as big as an egg! I had to have another look!


Chillin with a Beefeater. Fascinating history those guys have.

The London Eye was pretty cool. You don't even feel like you're moving on it and it never stops. You get on and off while it is moving.

Today I went to Harrods. That place is too big and too expensive. I got some souvenirs then left. I just wasn't into looking at expensive goods for fun. That's a waste of time here!

After Harrods I went to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. They were cool, but were geared more for kids. I didn't spend too much time in either. I instead went back to the V&A museum to see the "Grace Kelly, Style Icon" exhibit. It had many of her famous clothes and accessories. I saw the dress she wore when she won an Oscar. Very nice. I took a pic, then got in trouble for taking said pic. Oh well.

Tonight I went and saw the musical "Billy Elliot" at the Victoria Palace Theatre. It was very good. The kid in it did an amazing job of singing and dancing.

By the size of this post, I would say it's been a hectic few days. Tomorrow is calling for rain. I wonder what I should do? Visit the parks in the rain or shop?

Sorry if my grammar is horrible. I write these late at night and don't really have the time to edit or review them.

Bed Knobs & Broomsticks and mummies, huh?

Yesterday I took the London Underground for the first time. Hello, that system is simple! Everyone told me it is, but I had doubts because every time I saw the map, it was confusing. Well, it took me one short metro ride to figure it out. That's what colour coding does, it simplifies things.

Anyway, I went to Saturday's market on Portobello Road in the morning. Now a lot of people I know remember it from the movie "Notting Hill." As I am an old hag - my web teams nickname for me - I remember it from the movie "Bed Knobs & Broomsticks." If anyone remembers that movie they should remember the song about Portobello Road and all the great things you will find there.

What I found? A great way to spend a morning. It was fun talking to the shopkeepers, looking at their treasures and just absorbing a really vibrant atmosphere. I did buy one treasure, a nice tartan scarf made in Ireland. It was the one thing I saw that I definitely wanted. Must of been the Irish in me. When we aren't drinking, we are making great woolen things. I think?

After the market, I hopped on the metro and dashed down to The British Museum. I know I am excited about everything I am seeing, but I have been waiting for years to see this place. And it exceeded expectations! Everything I saw was fascinating, but I really wanted to see the Egyptian pieces. WOW. They have so much.

The first thing was the Rosetta Stone. The crowds around it are immense, but if you are patient, you will eventually get close. It literally took my breath away. I audibly gasped when I walked up to it. I never thought it would do that to me, but it did. It's so pristine and so old.

Everything in that exhibit is old. You start to feel really small when you walk by pieces that are dated 2500 B.C. Supposedly they have artifacts that date back to 10,000 B.C. Sweet jeebus!

Another piece that floored me was "Aztec turquoise double-headed serpent." It's not too large, but the colour in it is so vibrant. It's pretty kick-ass. It was the last item I was able to get a picture of before my camera battery died. ARGH, how can it die at that place? It's probably for the better. You start to get too picture happy and forget to really look at and absorb an object and think about how it makes you feel.

They also have a very nice library there too. It holds some great pieces. I got to look at a coin collection of each King and Queen. I really admire Queen Elizabeth I, so it was a treat to see her two coins. She was a pretty cool chick.

After the museum, I walked down Charring Cross Road and stumbled into the theatre district. It's hopping! People everywhere on the streets just talking and drinking. I wanted to go to a show, but I was exhausted and it was too late, so I just came back to the hotel.

London in pictures - Day 2 - The British Museum

The Rosetta Stone. This made me gasp when I first looked at it.


Just some dudes chillin.


Ramses II. Big boy statue.


Statues from the Parthenon.


Mummies!


And cat mummies too.


Oh, and why not mummify bulls as well.


Aztec double headed serpent. Simply gorgeous.


Aztec skull. Simply creepy, and still kinda pretty.

London in pictures - Day 2 - Portobello Road

The British really love their chickens and dogs!


Crazy leg warmers.



This was just fun.


Teapots everywhere.


Creepy watch maker doll.


Pizza car!


If it's not Scottish... It's CRAP! :)

What street is this?

Cannot even count how many times that was said this evening!

After I got in a good nap this afternoon, I ventured out on a walk to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood. I'm staying in the borough of Chelsea. And boy can these streets be confusing! There are small little side streets everywhere and no street signs. At least, that's what I thought at first. But there are actually plenty of signs, they are attached to buildings. I had no idea. When I first saw them I was like "they sure like to name every building." Yep, I'm not swift right off the bat.

After I figured out the signs, I just started walking and ended up at the Victoria & Albert Museum. I love that the museums are free here. You just walk in and go, just leave a donation. What an interesting and eclectic museum. I saw renaissance and medieval art mixed with women's high fashion. I think the Juicy Couture sweatpants outfit made me chuckle the most. They had something for everyone. They even had a library solely devoted to art books. I couldn't go in :(

The web geek in me must mention, London uses the best fonts. Stylish and appropriate.

London in pictures - Day 1

Here are a few pictures from my first day in London.





Victoria & Albert museum - the courtyard. The sign said "no puddling." I'm assuming that means jumping in the water.











Wooden sculpture. Dude killed dragon and is now just chilling with it. The detail is incredible on this piece.





The beat down. I think this is what UFC was 500 years ago.





Teeny, tiny Hasidic Jewish crown. Would fit nicely in your hand.





Beatrix Potter watercolor. An entire hall was dedicated to "Peter Rabbit." Each page is framed and displayed in a line so you can read the book.





English paintings. Look at the huge one on the right. Someone really loved that dog!





Concert and theatre posters. Loved the Sex Pistols one.





Yep, that is a Juicy Couture outfit. So sophisticated.





Royal Albert Hall at night. Got a double decker bus in there too.






Albert Memorial at night. Queen Victoria really loved her Albert! The whole area seems to be named after him.

London calling

Well I finally made it into London and I am sitting down comfortably for the first time in a day. Whew! I thought I was never making it out of Heathrow.

The flying went well and I met a nice couple from California that are off to Scotland for their holiday. They were very nice. I also met a pilot while sitting in a bar in Toronto watching a really bad tennis match that would never end. Nice guy that told me more than I ever need to know about pilots and their flying time. We also had the craziest bartender that shot off bad one-liner jokes faster than you can say "cheese!" He was a really good guy though.

The flight to London arrived on time, but we had to back up and repark due to poorly painted parking lines. HA! Once inside the terminal, the lines were so long I wanted to cry. After about an hour, they split up the lines and I got a break and dashed into the other line. I would still be there if I didn't.

The customs dude was great and put the first stamp in my passport. Nice. My driver was equally great and told me of some places I should see and pointed out as many as he could. He also talked quite a bit about the death of Princess Di. First british dude I meet mentions this. Boy did her death affect this city.

That's all for now. I think I'm going to try and sleep. I've been awake for 24 hours now. Yikes.

Cheerio