LONDON Friday, Oct. 17th, 2008

Our first day in London started out with almost being refused breakfast because we woke up late and got down to the dining area a minute late. It was a continental breakfast, so we simply said, "We've got to eat" and proceeded to join the buffet line. There were croissants and musli and yogurt--plenty to pack away for a snack in the middle of the day, too. We decided to start down Cromwell Road and step in the Victoria and Albert Museum, begun, of course, by Queen Victoria. The main collections are free, and there was so much we could have enjoyed. We asked one of the security guards what he would recommend if we only had an hour or so. He had a quick reply--the cast room and the jewelry. Neither disappointed.

The medieval cast room displayed amazing casts of original sarcophaguses, pillars, scuptures. We were amazed at not only the intricacies but at how much time it would have taken to do such a thing as well as transport it. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

The jewelry was incredible. The display didn't allow photographs as everything was under glass and lighted just so to show the brilliance of gems, rings, chantelains, necklaces, swords--everything imaginable worn from cradle to grave. I particularly liked the display which started with jewelry worn by women--rings and necklaces to promote fertility and a safe birth to children's jewelry to religious jewelry to jewelry associated with marriage to jewelry to ward off evil spirits to jewelry worn for mourning.

We continued down Cromwell Road looking in the little shops as well as in search of the all-famous Harrod's where we spent over an hour just in the sock department looking for leggings and legwarmers for the girls, the chocolate room with enough chocolate samples to need to buy anything much less think about eating for hours, the delicatessen where we saw small tins of Beluga whale caviar selling for 5800 pounds or over $10,000!

We ended up in the official Harrad's gift shops looking for souvenirs, and we won't elaborate now on what we found lest surprises won't be surprises when we get home.

Next we found the Knightsbridge tube station so we could take off to Leicester Square--home of the theatre district and half-price ticket sellers. Paula really wanted to see The Lion King, and I was willing to see anything really, but the tickets were not discounted and virtually sold out anyway. We asked one of the ticket sellers what the best deal was, and it was a show called Never Forget--about 5 men who try out for a so-called band which is inspired by the British hit band of the 1980's called Take That. She said it was a musical and lots of fun but not known as well as most of those we knew. We opted for this show and just decided we'd go for it.

We had until 8:30 when the show started, so we decided to go see the church known for its incredible music--St. Martin in the Field's. We were treated to Vivaldi's Four Seasons when we walked in. Tonight was to be a concert, and this was the rehearsal. No wonder this church is so famous for its music. The acoustics were fantastic. We thought a lot about returning Saturday night to hear Mozart's Requiem. Mom and Henry would have loved this! In fact, I think it was Henry who recommended a visit.

We stopped at Trafalgar Square to see the pigeons and people watch . . .

and then headed to the Thames to the closest tube station for Tower Bridge where we had hoped to walk over. The Tower of London was magnificent in the moonlight, and it was, indeed, a great experience to actually walk over the bridge.

Once on the South bank of the river, we walked bankside toward the Globe but ran into an old replica of Sir Francis Drake's galleon where a tour was taking place. We heard a little bit of history but didn't have time to hear as much as we would have liked.

We made it to the Globe and took only one picture. They are re-doing the thatch roof so there was scaffolding everywhere, and the season had just ended, so there were no plays being performed right now.

A walk over Millenium Bridge

gave a great look at the Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral, and a tube ride brought us to the Strand--close to the Savoy Theatre where Take That was playing.

The show was so much fun. We wondered why the audience was primarily female and soon found out. It was the British version of Mamma Mia! We were in the third row, and as we looked back at the house, most were standing and singing every song along with the actors. Apparently, the band Take That's songs were pretty much known by everyone in the 1980's, and their lead singer, Robbie Williams, even made it big in the U.S., too.

After the show, we saw a crowd of audience members screaming across the street, and it was because Craig Els, one of the leads, had appeared. Paula and I went over, and I stopped Craig, introduced myself, and got a picture of him and Paula. We overheard a girl say, "and we're from Minnesota." I asked her, "Where in Minnesota?" She said, "We're from Holy Angels in Richfield." Paula couldn't believe it! There were 90 students from Lauren's high school right there in London for MEA break! Wow! That was synchronicity.

The night ended back at the hotel with lots to talk about and a wish that we had more days in London!