End of First Day in London, 22 March, 2006

This first hotel is just tiny with about 10 rooms. It's really narrow and maybe 4 stories tall. There's a funny little cubbyhole in the hall outside my room with free internet for the hotel. My room and the teensy little office and the stairs make up the ground floor. My room is 9 feet by 10 feet, which would be an OK size, except there is a third of it occupied by the bathroom.

Today I did get up to the British Musem to see the Rosetta Stone. That's the actual real Rosetta Stone in the picture. It's black and only about 4 feet high, with tiny writing finely engraaved all over it. I expected it to be bigger, just because it was so important. I guess history doesn't always go by size!

I also saw what used to be called the Elgin Marbles, but now they are called the Parthenon Frieze. It's actually carved marble decorations stolen from the Parthenon in Greece. Greece wants them back now. . . Museums all around the world are having similar problems now.

There were also some headless Greek statues that I thought were really wonderful; lots of motion in the stone and swirl and action. I guess medieval folks who watched them get dug up in Rome thought it was pretty wonderful, too. The "new" Greek sculptures had so much more life than the stiff straight up-and-down medieval style, it fit right in at the beginning of the Renaissance. The word "Renaissance" refers to the rebirth of Greek and Roman ideas.

I walked around Trafalgar Square and went into St. Martins-in-the-Fields church. (The picture below has the National Gallery on the left and St. Martin-in-the-Fields in the center.) This church has their own chamber orchestra and make world-famous classical recordings, even have their own label. The organ started playing, and the acoustics were wonderful: warm and round and it just seems to envelop you. That was quite treat.

Troy, I remember when you came home to England, just after your mission, sitting on the steps of the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. You were too zoned with culture shock to appreciate the art.

I found the half-price theater ticket booth in Leicester Square that everyone talks about. I also found at least 3 others claiming to be the "official" half price ticket booth! London theatre is really big business; you see adverts for it everywhere. I want to go to a show while I am here, but thought tonight would not be good because I kept drifting off just sitting on the bus.

I rode the double-deck tour bus all over, and it was really cold, but you can see better from up top. So that's where I was most of the time.

When I was almost home, I got turned around by Victoria Station. I keep forgetting that it has 5 sides, not 4! But I got OK without too much trouble.

Did you know, you can take a round trip bus ride from here to Paris for only £29, but it takes 10 hours each way and it's a red-eye! That's why people are willing to pay £129 for the Chunnel - you get there in 2 hours and 20 minutes!

An interesting fellow sold me the ticket for the bus tour. He looked straight out of Dickens, complete with tweed jacket, big gap in his teeth, unshaven, and funny little cap. I can't decide if it was a costume. I know the teeth were real!

I must look like a helpless tourist, because all these bus drivers and other men keep calling me "luv," and take my arm and walk me to where they can point me in the right direction. I'm not used to quite that much British help! I do appreciate it, though.

Boy, am I tired. It's 9:00 at night here, only 2:00 p.m. in Utah, but I had very little sleep last night. I'm going to bed. Goodnight!