Day 2

Today was quite a busy day. We woke up, had a proper English breakfast (I don't think I've ever seen Cameron eat so much!) and then headed out to start our day. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, about 60 and sunny. Since we did not finish the double-decker tour from yesterday, we decided that would be the thing to start off. It was so interesting!! To add to the hanging site of the Marble Arch, we also found out that two really well known phrases were coined there. The first being "one for the road," because when they would take the condemned to be executed, they stopped for a very strong pint called the hangman's pint to get them drunk to make the hanging easier and the pint was in the middle of the road because it wasn't at an inn at the time. So, if you took the drink, you were "having one for the road." The flip side of that was if the condemned decided not to have a drink, they stayed on the wagon, hence the term "on the wagon" for staying away from the drink.

We also learned that the Great Monument was built to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, and that it's height is so specific that if it were to fall , the flame at the top would land at the site that the baker's shop stood on where the initial flames started the fire that destroyed Old London, but allowed for Christopher Wren to build the New London. This monument is down by the London Bridge (which is built about 6 feet from where the original London Bridge was). We also were able to "drive" around that infamous circle from the movie European Vacation where Chevy Chase's character says "Look, Kids! Big Ben! Parliment!" over and over again. (We had to say it, too.) We rode all over London, saw Buckingham Palace, Herrod's, 1 Downing Street, Trafalgar Square (where there's a statue of King George the First from where all distances to and from London are measured), Big Ben and Parliament, the re-built Globe Theatre, sooo many places!

After that, we headed to the London Zoo. Cameron & I are pretty good at manuvering about on the Underground, we can get almost anywhere now I think! We rode to Regent's Park and then walked through it to the other side to get to the Zoo. There were people playing rugby, lacrosse, football/soccer and just sunning in the beautiful weather. The Zoo was pretty cool, it's one of the oldest zoos around, and they posted quite a bit about their history all around so you knew what you were looking at. They also work hard at modernizing the zoo and making sure that the enclosures are appropriate for the animals now in our day of conservation. There was an old birdcage that used to hold ravens that was so small, but they showed that it's no longer in use and how they've learned from the past. We really enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed the Reptile House, where they filmed scenes from the first Harry Potter.

We were pretty hungry after all of our walking and decided to head back towards Soho to find something to eat. We couldn't figure out if the pubs were ones where we could eat or just for drinking, so we headed to Chinatown and ate at a different restauarant than last night. It was good! We figured out how to manuver around the whole Picadilly Circus, Soho and Shopping District so I feel more comfortable knowing how to get to certain places. We headed home and now Cameron is sound asleep. I think we're going to the Tower tomorrow as well as trying to see the changing of the guard's at Buckingham Palace. All and all we love this city and are enjoying ourselves immensely!