Today was a day of steps, especially for Cathy. We stood in line at the British Museum for tickets to the special exhibition, The First Emperor, securing an entry time of 3:00. Then we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral, but stopped at the London Silver Vaults on the way, in order to make some purchases (but I'm not sharing what they were). At St. Paul's we climbed the stairs to the Whispering Gallery and looked down into the nave of the church--pretty impressive from above too. After resting on that level we continued our climb to the first outside level. Of course it was pouring rain and the wind was threatening to tear my umbrella out of my hands, but I still managed to take some photos. And our timing was perfect as the low bell, Tom I think, sounded out at 1:oo, the only time of day it plays. Cathy climbed the last set of stairs to the very top, but I opted to wait for her on the middle level because that set of stairs was metal and very wet, making it extremely slippery in my pair of shoes (good excuse, right?). Cathy took my camera with her and took a few photos for me. Going down was a piece of cake compared to the climb up.

We then headed over to Old Bailey, the criminal courts. They did not allow bags of any kind, or cell phones, or cameras. We knew this already and so we did as planned--I waited outside while Cathy went in to watch 20 minutes of court in session. She had to walk up several flights of stairs to get to court 16, and watched part of a murder case. The judge and all of the dozen or so solicitors were wearing wigs per tradition. She said it was pretty cool, so I will go back sometime without all my "stuff."

Then it was back to the British Museum to see The First Emperor. We opted for the audio guides for an extra fee, but it was well worth it. We saw a small sampling of the 7000 terracotta soldiers that were found buried in three pits outside the First Emperor's tomb, dating from the third century BC. Additionally, there were acrobats, musicians, officials, chariots, birds, and more. He spent more than thirty years building his tomb "complex" because he wanted to rule in the afterlife as well. Talk about a big ego. I guess it is conquer or be conquered, and boy did he conquer. He was only thirteen when he became King of Qin, and became the first emperor of China twenty-five years later, beginning the Qin Dynasty. My only complaint was that it was too crowded in the exhibition, but what can you do? It reminded me of seeing King Tut in L.A. in 1978.

We met Gord and had dinner in Chinatown (including the mushroom and bok choi dish pictured here) before going to see Macbeth with Patrick Stewart, and Kate Fleetwood as a wonderful Lady Macbeth. It was a "brilliant" production, although I wish I had brushed up on the play before I saw it, since high school was a long time ago. We then walked through Trafalgar Square down to the Thames. The rain had stopped and it was a beautiful night.

Tomorrow we will try the jellied eels we picked up at Tubby Isaacs yesterday (he said they'd be good for three days--let's hope he's right). Jellied eels, you say? Well when we were in line at his little stall, every single person ordered them. One man bought one order to eat there and four to take home. Apparently they are an acquired taste. How bad can they be? Stay tuned.

I arrived in London a month ago today! It was market morning at Petticoat Lane and Brick Lane, and my favourite, the Sunday Upmarket. There were a lot more stalls in Petticoat Lane than when Gord and I were there a couple of weeks ago, and Cathy and I found Tubby Isaacs seafood stall where we tried a cold seafood sampling of mussels, cockles, and something else that was like a big mussel. These mussel-like things were too large to eat in one biteful, unfortunately, because, when I took a bite out of one, the remaining piece displayed this pseudopod, or foot-like thing, which I just couldn't manage to eat. We had a good laugh over it many times during the day, but I guess you had to be there.

Found many nice things, some jewelry, and some Sindhi quilts, but I only bought one small thing for someone who will remain nameless at this time. Cathy found a nice piece of artwork. We tried some Tunisian mint tea which was delicious and which I will try to replicate at home. We also shared a plate of Ethiopian vegetarian food, also delicious.

Then we went to the British Museum where we did the audio highlights tour. This museum is so huge that when we would find the room in which a particular item from the audio tour was located, we had trouble finding the actual item in the room. They told us it was a treasure hunt, but we wasted many valuable minutes trying to actually find the items. When the museum was closing at 5:30, I returned the audio guides and mentioned that it had been difficult to locate all of the artworks. I found out that the audio guide kiosk is independent, i.e., not run by the museum, and one of the people there said that they had tried the audioguide and found it difficult too; they also explained that the museum only allows them to display the audio guide logo very inconspicuously. But they did write on our receipt that we could come back tomorrow to finish the tour which was nice. Still love those Elgin Marbles.

We decided to take a bus home instead of the subway. That was a big mistake. We waited 40 minutes for our bus which was supposed to come every 12 minutes on Sundays and then the bus driver stopped the bus half way home and made everyone get off because it was not going any further (never did find out why). So we waited another while for a different bus that we could take that would get us a little further home, got off that one and took yet a third bus. We finally arrived home after 1-1/2 hours, tired and hungry. We knew that we had surpassed our 6.7 miles of the other day, but when Cathy checked the pedometer it was not on, so we couldn't tell. I'm sure it was 9 or 10 miles. That must mean we burned 400 calories. Wow.

Evensong, by the way, is a service of evening prayers and psalms, "conducted according to a set form, especially that of the Anglican Church" according to our dictionary. The nice thing about the evensong at St. Paul's yesterday was the wonderful choir made up of men and young boys, some of whom looked no older than seven.

Today we took the tube out to Heathrow Airport where we had booked a "hire car." We braved Gord's driving and went in search of stone circles. First we went to Avebury, a little village with a church and a manor, and surrounded by a huge complex that includes a great stone circle or "henge," a deep ditch and high bank, and groups of large stones. Nearby are ancient communal burial grounds or barrows. Grazing among the stones were many sheep, and consequently it was difficult to step anywhere without coming into contact with the sheep droppings that were literally everywhere, forming their own circles. We had lunch at The Red Lion, located in the middle of the circle. The pub is 400 years old and is one of the top ten most haunted pubs in the country. The main ghost is that of Florrie, who was killed here by her husband and thrown down a well. The well is inside the pub, covered with plexiglas (or perspex as they say here) so that you can peer down it, and functions as a table at which you can eat. They have a few rooms where you can spend the night and apparently they lock you in!

From there we drove to Stonehenge. We went late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds, which worked out quite well. The complimentary audio guides were good. It is just amazing how they transported these huge stones 4,500 years ago to map the course of the sun and the moon for some purpose on which we can only speculate. The larger stones are Sarsen stones brought from the Marlborough Downs 19 miles away and the smaller ones, Bluestones, are from Wales, 240 miles away. Incredible.

St. Paul's Cathedral was going to be one of the venues for the day, but ended up being the only one. We arrived just in time for a guided tour which took us to areas of the cathedral open only to visitors paying for the tour--for example, the Geometric Staircase (seen in movies including one Harry Potter film). We learned about the two large bells, Tom and Paul, in the clock tower. Tom rings on the hour and Paul only sounds at 1 PM daily. We just missed hearing "him" so we may have to go back. We learned all about Christopher Wren, and how it took 35 years to build the cathedral (making Wren one of the few cathedral architects to see his work completed) but it took 60 years to build the Wellington Monument inside. Our docent also told us about how a group of people took turns staying in the cathedral during the London Blitz, to put out any fires from the bombings, thereby saving it from destruction. We also learned how Queen Victoria had the beautiful mosaics added to the nave. We went through the American Memorial Chapel and then on to the famous painting Light of the World by William Holman Hunt. We saw the tombs of Christopher Wren, Lord Leighton, Turner, Millais, Admiral Nelson (laid to rest in a tomb that was originally meant for someone else), General Wellington, and monuments to Florence Nightingale, John Donne, Winston Churchill, to name only a few. We saw the replica of the original Gothic cathedral that was destroyed in the 1666 fire. After the tour we stopped in the Crypt Cafe to share a sandwich and then looked in the shop, but when we went to walk up the steps into the Dome, we discovered it was closed for the day. They marked our tickets so that we could reenter another day. It was almost time for Evensong so we decided to stay for that. We sat in the Mayor's seat in the Choir (or Quire) with its beautifully carved wood, with many carved cherubs, each one modeled after a different child so each has a unique face.

Met Gord for Indian food in Soho after walking partway across the Millenium Bridge for a nice view of the Thames as well as St. Paul's. Came home to plan for tomorrow's big day--visiting two famous stone circles.

Rain, rain, go away.

So I think I figured out what I want to be when I grow up. I want to work for the Queen and be the Keeper of the Privy Purse. Isn't that a great title? (The dictionary defines privy purse as an allowance from the public revenue for the monarch's private expenses.) Or better yet, I could open a pub and call it The Privy Purse. (What do you think, K, L, and L? Could that be our business? Tea room by day, pub by night?)

Gord took Cathy and me on a sixties-themed walking tour, sort of a dry run for a class he will be "guest teaching" next month. It's a class on Youth Culture (or "youf" culture as some people say--you can pronounce "th" as an "f" or a "v", as in somefing or bruvver). Anyway, his class will be on the music industry in the sixties. We started out at Abbey Road Studios out in St. John's Wood. That's also where the Beatles were photographed walking across the zebra crossing for their Abbey Road album. Gord was going to take a picture of Cathy and me crossing it, just like every other tourist who ventures up there, but unfortunately (or fortunately) I had neglected to bring my camera today. The walking tour continued on to Soho, past recording studios and coffee shops where musicians hung out, past clubs and the London Palladium.

After a late lunch at Belgo (again), we walked to the National Portrait Gallery and spent three wonderful hours, mostly on the top floor, looking at portraits and learning more British history through the audio guides. I'll have to go back to see the rest of it. I was looking for a particular photograph of some man whose name I couldn't remember that my daughter had copied when we were here in 1996, but I couldn't find it. They have redone the foyer of the museum since we were here last and there is now a long escalator that takes you up to the top floor.

There was no time for dinner, nor were we hungry, before we had to get to the Theatre Royal Haymarket to see The Country Wife. This comedy by William Wycherley was first performed in 1675, but by 1753 it was considered too morally offensive to be performed in its original version. It wasn't performed again in its unedited form until 1924. Since then the title character has been performed by Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Helen Mirren. (There is no Playbill here filled with advertising, so you must purchase a program if you want one. What I like about them is that they give you a history of the play and its performances--and this one had wonderful photographs. What I don't like is having to pay, this time 4 pounds, but I do understand why.) Anyway, I thought the play was great, and surprisingly risque for having been written in the 17th century. Tonight was the first night of the previews so there were a couple of glitches and line stumbles, but not many. I loved the set design--I'm always amazed at how they conceptualize it. There were many scene changes and cleverly done. The acting was good, with the title character seeming to pull off a decent Yorkshire accent (but what do I know?). The theatre itself is beautiful.

Pedometer reading for the day: 17,658 steps taken; 6.7 miles walked; 383 calories burned.

Cathy and I went down to see the changing of the guard ceremony. We had read that the best place to see the action was either at the nearby St. James's Palace or the Wellington Barracks. So we went to St. James's and watched the band play before escorting the guards down to Buckingham Palace where they met up with the guards from the Barracks. We followed them and then joined the mobs at the gates. I couldn't help but fall into step with the wonderful music, very traditional marching kind of pageantry music. But once they got inside the palace gates and played a few more songs, suddenly they started playing Abba, specifically Dancing Queen!!! And after that they played A Groovy Kind of Love by the Mindbenders. And if that wasn't a mindbending experience I don't know what was! Then after they got that out of their systems, they went back to the serious stuff.

We toured the state apartments that Gord and I had done last week. The tickets we had purchased were good for unlimited visits with photo ID. The woman at the desk was very nice and offered to let Cathy in on Gord's ticket, saving her 15 pounds.

Got home in time to make dinner for three of the students who loved the comfort food of roast chicken, macaroni and cheese, caesar salad, and slow-roasted tomatoes (and of course a fresh raspberries on custard pie from downstairs). Most of them are really not eating very well as they are responsible for buying or cooking their own meals. They are living on ramen, canned soup, and other simple items. In fact they claim not to have had a real meal since they got here. I had made twice as much macaroni, so sent them back to the dorm with the leftovers.

There are often problems with the subway lines, where some will not be running due to switching problems, an object on the track, weekend construction, delays for whatever reason. As frustrating as it can be they are always clear about relaying this information. There are boards at every station listing each line and its status, either good service or no service, long delays, etc. And someone will come on the loudspeaker with the same information and suggested options in travel, if necessary. On the way to the play yesterday, it was announced very matter-of-factly that the Victoria line was down because of a person under a train. People carried on as usual. But what else could one do? We were nowhere near the Victoria line. We were merely being told in case we were planning on transferring to the Victoria line. But did we need to know the cause? Would it have been enough to know it was not in service at this time? We will probably never know what happened to the person.

Today Cathy and I visited the London Silver Vaults below the city on Chancery Lane, with store after store of antique and some not-so-antique silver of all kinds. We were intrigued with the jewelry, especially these silver Victorian stamp containers. Just large enough to hold a stamp or two, they were worn as pendants, back in the day when people actually wrote letters! Some looked like tiny envelopes with a top flap that opened. Some had the word "STAMP" printed across the front. Only the prices deterred us from making any purchases. I did see a beautiful ring that fit my finger perfectly. Oh well. I've acquired enough beautiful rings of late.

We left there to partake of afternoon tea at The Orangery at Kensington Palace. We shared one fancy tea, the one that came with a glass of champagne, and ordered an extra pot of tea on the side. It was perfect. One person probably couldn't and definitely shouldn't indulge in the whole three tiers--one for finger sandwiches, one for scones, and the top for the little cakes. I have always wanted to do the high tea thing. But the timing never seemed right. Is one supposed to have dinner after this? Well, we skipped lunch, had tea at 3:00 and still had dinner.

We met this cute little man in Kensington Gardens who was feeding the squirrels. It was obvious that this was a regular pastime of his. They were crawling all over him, up on his shoulders, up his legs. I found it fascinating and Cathy thought it creepy--after all they are rodents. He was talking about Dieppe and Normandy and what happened to the Canadians and how most kids nowadays don't know about it (I'm not sure that he was talking about us as though we were kids, but I'll take what I can get). He also talked about one of the squirrels, the one guarding his pack of nuts, and how she is mean to the other squirrels if they come too near. The other squirrels keep a safe distance from her. Anyway, because of her behavior he calls her Camilla Parker Bowles!

Close by, within the park, there was a beautiful flower garden being tended to by a couple of royal gardeners. The public was not allowed inside because, as one of the gardeners said, people will steal the flowers and then it won't be so nice. We thought it was like the Secret Garden.

We walked up Kensington Church Street and back down, looking in all of the antique stores there. One of them had a couple of modern replicas of those stamp pendants, at a much more affordable price. But again, no purchases. There were two charity shops that we looked in as well because I had heard that they are good places to shop. Not this time, however.

Went home whereupon Gord and I left to do the shopping for tomorrow's student dinner. Picked up Cathy and walked to the Elephant and Castle for fish and chips and a pint. Cathy's pedometer indicated that we had walked just under five miles today. But the bad news? We burned only 286 calories. I know that those things are not totally accurate but how can that be? It's a good thing we shared the afternoon tea.

(Okay Katie, you wanted a picture of us. Here it is.)