To our family and friends hello from London. The past few days have been busy exploring the city as well as a trip to Oxford and train ride back through the English country side. There has been so much to see and do here that we will not be able to see it all in the short time we have. Some observations and highlights to date:
1. The British have been extremely friendly and helpful. Especially our colleagues at OCEA Alan and Tanya Thorne, who treated us to a wonderful day and dinner in Oxford.
2. The weather has been remarkable, summer weather in late September with no rain! A special treat was walking along the Thames river enjoying the sunset and the warm summer night while the city lights lit up the sky and the church bells rang out in the distance.
3. Everywhere you walk there is something interesting to look at! The buildings, streets, black cabs and double decker buses make you think you're on a movie set.
4. Pubs everywhere! The Brits love to meet and hang out in pubs all over the city and with the current weather everywhere we go are large groups of people freely drinking out in front these pubs.
5. Jaywalking or crossing the street at your own peril is a sport here in the city. There are cross lights but everyone makes a sport out of crossing long before the light comes on and the cabs and buses have no interest or desire to stop!
6. The 'tube' or subway here is excellent and makes traveling throughout the city a breeze.
7. Our visit to St Paul's was a wonderful experience. Elaine especially enjoyed listening to the organ playing under the central Cathedral floor (the same organ that played for princess Diana's wedding), while I climbed 528 steps to the top of dome and got a 360 degree view of the city.
Below are some of pics from the first few days (our Oxford pics will come tomorrow once we have gone through them tonight)
Michael & Elaine
