I managed to check four items off my list today! Yeah!

First I stopped in at the Tower Bridge Exhibition, learned how the bridge was made, enjoyed the views from the two walkways on this sunny but brisk day, and went down to the Victorian engine rooms to try to understand the steam-powered hydraulic system that at one time controlled the bascule mechanism that opens the bridge for tall ships. I was told that they would be opening the bridge for a ship tonight at 5:15. Also on display was part of one man's collection of 1,500 postcards of the Tower Bridge.

I then walked over to the Design Museum, a neat, three-story white building overlooking the Thames. They had two special exhibitions, apparently no longer exhibiting any of their permanent collection. Taking up three-quarters of the space was Zaha Hadid: Architecture & Design. I was not familiar with her work, but I think now I could recognize her distinctive style. She was born in Iraq, got a degree in mathematics at the American University in Beirut, and moved to London in 1972 to study architecture. She was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize for Architecture. The exhibition had countless models of her structures, some that were never built, many that were completed, and quite a number of huge projects that are under construction. I especially liked the following: the Signature Towers in Dubai, the Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion in Spain, the Edifici Campus in Barcelona; the Ordrupgaard Museum Extension in Copenhagen, and the Lois and Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati. They also had some of her furniture designs on exhibit as well as some cutlery, door handles, and tea sets, which were quite nice. (Katie, you would have loved it.) The rest of the museum was devoted to Matthew Williamson: 10 Years in Fashion, which was interesting. I won't go into a description of it because it is 1:30 AM as I write this and I have a lot more to say about my day. The photos will have to suffice.

I stopped in at City Hall and found it much more appealing on the inside than the outside. The ninth floor ("London's Living Room") is only open to the public on the first weekend of the month, so I could not see the "spectacular views." The building was designed by Fosters and Partners, who also designed the Millenium Bridge and the British Museum's Great Court. Its spherical shape covers 25% less surface area than a cube, thus using less energy. It is cooled by ground water brought up from below the building and flowing through the beams on each floor. Heat generated by computers and lights is recycled through the building's core, and recycled materials were used to fit the building. The chamber is glassed in so that one can look in at meetings. The exhibition in the lobby was Rebels and Troublemakers with paintings by Jolie Goodman and photographs by eastlondonphotographers.com.

I next walked over to Southwark Cathedral to have a look. For two pounds they let you take photographs, so I snapped away. The Lewisham Concert Band was performing a 40th anniversary concert tonight and the musicians were practicing. Very pleasant. The cathedral has a monument to William Shakespeare, the tomb of poet John Gower, and the Harvard Chapel in honour of John Harvard (benefactor of Harvard University), who was baptised here in 1607.

I walked quickly through Borough Market (it was much less crowded than Saturday) before meeting Gord at the London Bridge Station. We walked back over to the Thames just in time for the opening of the Tower Bridge. It was a sailboat of some kind that went through, and frankly it wasn't all that exciting! Oh well. But it was another good reason to eat out. We ate at a nearby Pizza Express chain, splitting a salad, a pizza and a bottle of red wine. Then we made the mistake of looking at the dessert menu! They had lemon sorbet and one of us had the bright idea to get some of that and mix it with some Prosecco to make Sgroppino. Well, they didn't serve Prosecco by the glass so we had to order a bottle! But it was delicious mixed with the sorbet. We had a very nice waitress and we even offered her a taste, but she declined because her manager was there! She was all excited about trying it at home though.

It's now 2:15 AM and I have yet to upload my photos. . . .

It's 3 AM now and I'm still waiting for some photos to upload. . . . Getting kind of tired.

At last I'm done and it's almost 3:15. Think I might be tired tomorrow.