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Sunday, December 10, 2006

London

Location: London
Time: 5pm
 
I was just gazing out the window watching the London Eye spin around, amazed by the number of flash photographs being taken of the city, when I caught a glimpse of the glowing face of Big Ben and realized, wow, I am in London. It's hard to believe that it's already day three here, but what a wonderful three days it has been so far.
 
Friday E arrived from Paris via the Eurostar, and we spent the evening chatting away over a pint at the local pub. Saturday we slept in and then spent the day wandering around the city. We stopped in at Westminster Cathedral and marvelled at the beautiful interior. While Westminster Abby is architecturally beautiful, Westminster Cathedral is decorated beautifully. My family and I went to a Christmas service at this church two years ago and all I remember is the black ceiling and thinking to myself that it was as though I was looking up into the night sky. Little did I know that slowly the church would be installing amazing, colorful, and inspiring mosaics throughout. Even better, there aren't a million tourists buzzing around so you really can enjoy the peaceful sanctuary of being in a church.
 
Saturday evening my Dad threw together a wonderful dinner party. It was great opportunity to spend some time with my aunt and uncle and to see my dad's friends P&P and T&R. Unfortunately we didn't have enough chairs to seat the number of people we had invited so instead of a traditional sit down meal we had a rolling buffet; a few dishes at a time served throughout the evening. Lots of laughter and at least 7 bottles of wine later, we had to call it a night so our guests could make it home before the Tube closed.
 
Sadly, E had to return to Paris this afternoon but only after searching out fish and chips for lunch. It was wonderful having her here but next time I am definitely heading over to Paris. Tonight Dad and I are off to M&C's for a Sunday roast, rumored to be one of the best I will ever experience. Then Tuesday I will be off to Barcelona for a week of exploring. I am looking forward to spending some time in Parc Guell, checking out the Christmas markets, and enjoying the Catalan cuisine.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

you know, it took me a while of staring at the Empire State Building in the dark before I realized that those little flashes near the top were people's cameras going off...