Day Two: London

Today is our 6th wedding anniversary! Our plan today was to do the tourist thing and take the "Original London Sightseeing Tour" on a traditional double decker bus. We started by taking the tube to Trafalgar Square [PIC], where we were supposed to be able to find the main visitor information center easily...HA. Either the English learned from the Italians or vice versa, but neither know how to use street signs!! After we found the office, she gave us incorrect directions to the bus stop, she told us to go up to stop "H", but what she really meant was "K". Sooooooo, after wasting a lot of time looking for the wrong bus stop, we found out where we were supposed to be, and boarded the tour bus. The first route took us out to Harrods [PIC], finally I get to lookie look at things I can't afford, but no, they don't open until 11:30 and it's 10:00. Oh well, we got ourselves a Starbucks and got back on the bus. The next stop we got off at was Kensington Palace. This is where Princess Diana lived. I would have paid to tour the palace if you could in fact see where she lived, but that part is not open, so we just looked at the outside [PIC]. In Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park is the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain [PIC], now I know she was the "black sheep" of the royal family, but come on, could a fountain be in a more obsure, hidden spot? It took us FOREVER walking around the gardens to find this fountain, but when we got there it was worth it. It's kinda like a lazy river set up, and you are invited to sit on the wall and dip your feet in the ice water. Which initally was cold, but then actually felt good after all the walking we had to do to get to the fountain. After we trudged back to the bus, I was hungry! We followed the circle route back around and had some lunch. After lunch we hopped on a different tour route and saw Buckingham Palace [PIC], where we got off and took some pictures. Driving around the apartments near Buckingham, I was looking at the roofs and all the little chimneys the buildings have. I kept looking for Dick Van Dyke to start dancing across the roof tops. We also drove by the neighborhood where Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow live, and the hotel where Elizabeth Taylor spent five of her honeymoons! Next we drove by Parliament and Big Ben [PIC], and Westminster Abbey. We did not get off to see the Abbey because it is closed on Sunday, so we are going to go another day. It is just a short walk from our hotel. Next, we crossed from the "City of Westminster" into the "City of London" and saw St. Paul's Cathedral [PIC]. The cathedral was closed for touring because it was Sunday, but they had an "Evening Song" going on with the choir, so there were people in there, mostly standing in the back. Now, if you have seen churches in Italy, there is nothing you can see that would impress you anywhere else, so although the church was beautiful, it was just another church. We were standing there for a few minutes, when I hear Chadd gasp, I look at him and he's about to sneeze. Oh crap! This is going to be loud and scare all these very quiet spectators!! Chadd supresses the sneeze and just makes the tiniest of a pathetic sneeze noise. I ask him "Okay, are you ready to go?" He whispers "Yes, now that I just gave myself an anyerusm". We continued the tour over London Bridge, from which I got my first glimpse of Tower Bridge [PIC]. Then we rounded the corner and went over Tower Bridge. We bought tickets to do the Tower Bridge exhibition, but we were running out of time and that was one attraction where I wanted to be able to take my time, so we decided to do that on Tuesday. We got off the bus and took our "included Free River Cruise" [PIC] down the River Thames back to Westminster, and our hotel. We had about an hour before our flight on the London Eye, so we showered and changed. Our reservation was at 7:00 pm for the London Eye, we scheduled it around sunset. We went to go pick up the tickets and the man tells us "Okay, your host will be right with you".... I asked Chadd "We have a host? huh?" He said "I guess so". This wonderful girl walks around the corner holding this basket and says "Okay, follow me". So, I follow, confused. She walks us up to the Eye and we go right to the front of the line.... Then I start putting two and two together and come up with the answer that my husband has done a little of his Hunnie Bunnie sneaky magic. He got us a private capsule for the ride with a bottle of Champagne (and O.J., I made mine a Mimosa) and some yumalicious truffles [PIC]. On the way down they take your picture, so we posed with me kissing my sweetie. Then walking down the exit ramp, these women start asking me if I am Chelsea? I said "No, I'm Sheri". They said someone had a sign that said "Will you marry me, Chelsea" and thought that the couple was us (they could see the kissing pic on the monitor) and I said "No, but it is our sixth wedding anniversary!" After our "flight" we went back to the hotel and took a taxi to dinner. I was excited that I got to ride in the cute taxi! I had told Chadd I hoped it was a standard black one, because I had seen some gray ones driving around. Then I said, "did you see that hot pink one earlier today? Geez, I hope we don't get that!"... and guess what drives up? You guessed it the only hot pink cab in the city [PIC]. For dinner we went to a Japanese restaurant (surprise) Matsuri. It was EXCELLENT. It was very authentic Japanese, from start to finish. Our dinners were like 9 courses, I am so full, I want to go to sleep but I have to finish this blog just to keep me up long enough to digest. The soup was served in little pots that you pour it out and drink out of this little saucer [PIC]. The sushi just melted in our mouths. I was worried that since it was so authentic that my prawns would come out with their heads on, I am happy to report that they did not. Our garden vegetables consisted of some asparagus, lotus root and carrots. Chadd tried the carrots and made this comment "Note to self, these are NOT carrots, they ARE yams", Chadd hates yams. Oops! After dinner we start chating with the couple across from us. During the converstation, they break the news to me that George Michael was arrested today for drug possession! When I look it up on the internet once I get back to the hotel, turns out he was actually arrested on Saturday, the day we got here, was taken to a North London police station and giving a warning. So, hopefully he will be home tomorrow, keeping a low profile, playing with Meg and Abby (his yellow labs) in his back yard, so when we go out to Goring to see his house he is there!! Keeping my fingers crossed..........