Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament

Well, we're here in London, and we have been moving! Since we shortened our trip by a day because of the train fares, we have crammed so much into this day that it is crazy. But, before I start in on all the sites, let me tell you about how much I miss air conditioning. In case you've never been to London, nothing is air conditioned. Now, usually that's not much of a big deal as the normal highs rarely get over 80. Lucky for us, we're hitting record highs. So, our hotel room that was the most inexpensive we could find was roasting! We cracked the window, which is all you're allowed since the have safety locks on them, and prayed for a breeze. Too bad all we got was the TRAIN!!!! We were so exhausted, though, that we didn't notice the trains pass by. Today was even worse, and we felt it as we traveled in the subway and on the double-decker bus (I loved that!). The headlines for today was, "Record Highs on Underground and Buses." Lucky us!

Besides the heat, though, London has been very exciting. In less than thirty hours we have seen: Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye (where a protestor climbed to the top and shut it down just so we couldn't get on it -- damn Brit), took a boat ride down the Thames where we saw the new Globe Theater, London Bridge, Tower of London, Tower Bridge. Today we spent several hours at the Westminster Abbey (awesome), Tower of London (really cool), and Buckingham Palace. We walked down all the trendy streets and ate, what else, Fish and Chips!

One of the really odd things has been how familiar and foreign this place feels. Really, if nobody spoke you would think that we were in an American city. Yet, there is definitely a feel about the place that is very different. The people have different mannerisms, and the architecture is way different. It's nice to be able to read everything too!

Well, I promised Nate time to play on the computer, and I only have ten minutes left.

Off to Oxford tomorrow (shouldn't my parent be so proud to hear that?)

PS Sent off post cards, but I bet we beat them home!