London

We have just finished a 5 night stay in foggy London town, and it's been fantastic. I could spend all day writing about all the things we've seen and done, so Instead I'll make a list, in roughly chronological order:

* Shared a pint and a roast at the pub with Samantha (Hi Sam!)
* Slept in (a couple of times)
* Visited the local starbucks
* Walking tour (Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles' house, Big Ben, house of parliament, Trafalgar square etc.)
* Jack the Ripper tour (disgusting stories, but good tour. Met some interesting east end folk in the process, and a particularly annoying American. More on this later.)
* Tour of Lords cricket ground (By a slightly senile bloke that was old enough to have seen Bradman play)
* Walked across Abey Road (with every other tourist twat in London)
* Visited Harrod's department store (Predicably, Fiona loved it, I hated it. The bloke in the toilet expected a tip for pointing out where the soap was. Sod off, I can work that one out for free mate.)
* Visited Harrod's ice cream parlour (best thing all afternoon)
* Saw "Dirty Dancing" the musical (Somewhat embarrasingly, really enjoyed this. Lets refrain from questioning my sexuality and just put this down to a quality 80s soundtrack.)
* Caught up with James and Thomas at Hyde park (Jolly good fun. Hi James! Hi Thomas!)
* Visited the Churchill war rooms museum (excellent.)
* Ate bangers and mash with a pint of English ale
* Saw "Spamalot" the musical (By the monty python crew. Hillarious. Only thing funnier than the show was Fiona's laughing.)
* Serenaded Fee with the songs from "Spamalot" for 24 hours.
* Visited the tower of London (Fantastic. Especially if like me, you enjoy a good suit of armour and a gawk at the crown jewels)
* Walked over the tower bridge
* Had a sausage roll and pie with mash at the Borough markets.
* Saw Shakespeare's globe theatre.
* Had a nap.
* Caught up with Mick and Krysty for some pints, some foozball and some tapas. (Loved every minute. Hi Mick! Hi Krysty!)
* Caught a train to Chester.

...And that brings us up to now.

So, obviously there is heaps to do in London. We have only just scratched the surface. It does come at a price though, having easily been our most expensive stop so far, but as mainland Europe was much cheaper than we expected this hasn't been a big concern. It is also very crowded, although people generally seem very curteous and patient, so this helps a lot. Even when lugging around bags and inadvertantly getting in peoples way, they seem to just take it in their stride and you rarely cop a nasty look like I'm sure you would in Sydney.

I think the pubs also deserve a special mention. Many are underground, dimly lit and serve beer at room temperature and food that while tasty is probably taking years off your life. However they are very atmospheric and full of character, and once you're in one you really do feel like staying all day/afternoon/night. That summises my feelings about London in general quite well actually. It's not ideal, or particularly pretty, but it has so much atmosphere and character that you can't help but love it.