Our neighborhood

Pimlico is the area in London where we're living. It's close to Westminster, Buckingham Palace, and other famous sights. Our neighborhood has old elegant buildings and lush garden squares; too bad they're all private. We love this area and have already found many great shops, markets and restaurants.

Many of the buildings in the area have columns framing the front doors with balconies above. This picture shows a private garden across from the homes. I was told that generally only those who live around the garden square have keys to the gates. Darn!

This view of a terrace garden is from one of our windows. We're lucky to be on the third floor and have five windows, each with wonderful views for watching the goings on of our neighborhood. I drink my coffee watching our neighborhood wake up every morning. I love it!

These girls are walking to school. It's still in session and they don't break until mid July, and then only for six weeks.

Most little kids ride scooters to keep up with their fast paced companions. 

London is a city of walkers and bikers. Bike stands like this one are all over the city. You pay a pound to use a bike and when you're finished you drop it off at any similar stand. We haven't used them yet, but we will.

Laura and I shop nearly every day. We can only carry so much, plus our fridge is very small. At first it felt like a chore, but now it's just part of our routine. Sainsbury's is a grocery store a few blocks away, very similar to a Safeway. Even closer to us is a farmer's market we prefer for fresh produce and baked goods.

This crossing reminder is at every corner. Good thing because we need it!

St. Gabriel's Catholic Church is just a block away. We have a view of its steeple from our bedroom window.

Some famous Brits have lived in the Pimlico area. Winston Churchill once lived right down the street from us.

Father's Day

Hey, Laura here. On Sunday we took a riverboat cruise on the Thames to Greenwich. We saw a lot of interesting sights along the way, and we had a funny commentator that made the trip seem less long. It was very cold on the top of the boat when we started to go, and I eventually had to wear three coats. Here I am with my dad before the weather turned.

One of the sights that we saw was Cleopatra's Needle. It was given to London by the Egyptians when Cleopatra ruled (hence the name "Cleopatra's Needle"). There is a duplicate of it in New York.

When we got to Greenwich, we saw a crowd gathered in front of the Old Royal Naval College. We heard music, so naturally we wanted to check it out. There were folk dancers and musicians accompanying the dancers. It felt like we were in some small European town. Oh wait.....we are! 

When we finally climbed up the hill to the observatory, we noticed that there was all sorts of information about the Prime Meridian and Greenwich time. So of course my mom made me read it. Sigh.......

We then proceeded to notice that there was a line to get tickets to see the Prime Meridian (which, in case some of you don't know, is the line that divides Western and Eastern Hemispheres). My mom and dad were completely shocked to see that it actually costs money to get in to see the Prime Meridian. The reason that they were shocked was because Rick Steves, who is this travel dude they practically worship, said that it was free. I mean, how could the genius Rick Steves be wrong? Was it even possible?  Anyway, after we got in there was another line to take a picture on the Prime Meridian. Here I am with one foot in each hemisphere.

After we walked back down the hill, we got some ice cream and got on a speedy ferry that took us back to London. We concluded a great Father's Day by having a great dinner at a great restaurant called Grumbles. The food really hit the spot after a tiring day, and we even had enough room in our stomachs for a lemon tart with fresh raspberries. Yum!

Big Bus Tour

We finally have internet at our flat! Hopefully we'll post more consistently now.

On Saturday we took one of the tour buses around the city. We had a great commentator (named Kevin), who was fun and witty. It was a wonderful way to see an overview of this diverse city. Here are some of the highlights...

The bus: we sat up top.

Kevin - our guide.

Interesting fact: Big Ben is named for the bell inside, not the clock tower.

A city of contrasts: from old structures to new ones, the London Eye.

It's the second tallest ferris wheel in the world.

View of Tower Bridge over the Thames. 

In it's heyday the bridge was raised 5 times a day and now, maybe 5 times a week.

St. Paul's Cathedral: where 'Feed the Birds' was sung in Mary Poppins

(but you musical lovers already knew that).

The bells were ringing as we drove by (Laura says for a wedding, there was a bride and groom on the steps). Really spectacular to drive through these narrow streets, full of history, with so many sights and sounds all around us. The weather was rainy at times, but in typical London fashion it changed quickly. We were able to hop off and on the bus, so when it rained we'd hop off, eat, drink, and shop, then we'd hop back on.