London, Tues. Feb 2, 2010

Sarah writes:
Today we went to the Westminster Abbey where we did a scavenger hunt.  We also went to "We Will Rock You" and saw it with my god-sister, Lisa.  The street that the theater was on was Totenham Court, just like Demeter sings in Cats.  Today the weather was light rain and cold!  Can't wait until tomorrow when we leave for Africa and warmer weather! :)

Everyone got to ride the Tube.  The kids were shocked at how long and steep the escalators were.

I couldn't get over seeing all the places I read about in my favorite books!  Drive down Fleet Street, Haymarket, Mayfair, seeing where Tyburn Tree was, etc... Loved it!

Went to visit the Tower of London, this lovely shot is from the tour bus.

Even though it was freezing, the kids insisted on sitting on the top of the bus, outside, in the cold!  The views were worth it, I might add.

We visited the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels (no funny ideas here!) and got a great history lesson.  Did you know London is more than 2,000 yrs old?  Originally founded by the Romans.

Outside Westminster Abbey.  No photos allowed inside.  Spent hours looking at beautiful, ornate and awe-inspiring tombstones.  Can't believe how many kings, queens and famous people that I am familiar with are buried here.  I guess I didn't understand that it was a church and a burial site.  They had a great audio tour to point out highlights and they gave the kids a "treasure hunt" type paper to complete with questions like "What is so-and-so's first name?" or "How many statues are in this area?"  Some of the questions were way tougher than you would think.  Kept the kids interested and excited to find the next answer.

This is a very big deal for Gabriel.  This is an English mailbox.  This is important to Gabriel because his favorite person, Mr. Bean, gets stuck in one while trying to retrieve a letter.  If you are not familiar with the character Mr. Bean, look him up.  The actor's name is Rowan Atkinson.  Gabriel loves all the old episodes of his from a British TV show.  Mr. Bean also drives an old Mini with right-hand drive, which Gabriel also saw while in London.  Too bad he didn't see Mr. Bean...

We finished our day off by having dinner with Lisa Hack who is studying Law in London and missing the Winter Olympics in her home city of Vancouver, BC.  She is the daughter of Jonathan's very good and long-time friend, Larry.  After dinner, we all went to see "We Will Rock You", a musical that incorporates the music of Queen.  The music was fantastic and fun to see the whole audience getting into it.  Story was really weak and boring, but if you know that ahead of time, like we did, you wont end up disappointed.  Kids loved it!!