Big Ben is really only medium-sized.

London was Calling, so we answered. But luckily the Bridge didn't fall down! And though we missed Penny Lane, we did get to see Abbey Road (even if it was just in M&M World...)

George, Paul, Ringo, John, Alex

Our adventure in London started on Friday evening with a late flight into Stansted. We took an annoying bus ride into the city (gotta love crying babies), but we managed pretty easily to find our way to the flat of our friends from Pomona. They're staying in a place with a luxury bathroom, TV, leather couch, and huge kitchen! It makes our flats look pretty dumpy. But I still prefer our living situation in Edinburgh because we're so central to everything, and I get to share a flat with English, Scottish and French people.

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to start our day. Except it wasn't bright... it drizzled on and off for a few hours. The UK was raining on its own parade! In honor of its veterans, there were huge memorial celebrations and parades through many streets. Lots of bagpipes, horses, uniformed men, and poppy-wearing people. We definitely picked an exciting weekend to visit. I'll add some video in later to show you what it was like.

One of our first stops was King's Cross Station. I got a breakfast burrito to satisfy my Mexican food craving, and we got to live the dream of (almost) boarding the Hogwarts Express.

Alex and I conquered ALL of the tourist attractions! We were always in a huge sea of people from all around the world; I heard more foreign languages than English, it seems.

In the Underground station, on an endless escalator

Trafalgar Square

Admiralty Arch

St. James Park with a flamingo-wannabe

London Eye in the background

There were tons of squirrels! This one almost attacked Alex- notice that the squirrel is much closer to her in the picture than it was when she first pointed at it!

Buckingham Palace! We didn't get to see the changing of the guard, but we did get to see the guards strut around a bit.

This was BEFORE mobs of people showed up

The Thames on a cloudy November day. 

London is super excited about Christmas

We got a free cup of tea at Twinings!

Might as well milk the name, right?

(Not so) Big Ben! It is a beautiful building, though.

St. Paul's Cathedral, waiting for a call

For my brother the Tritan! There's a statue of one in the arch behind me.

The lovely Tower Bridge at sunset

Alex's shot of the beautiful city

At night, we explored Chinatown, enjoyed the lights, discovered some really hip shops AND A WHOLE FOODS! (which made us miss California), and had a huge Chinese feast. A great way to end a long, busy day.

Duckies

Boba AKA bubble tea

Course one- shrimp corn soup

Duck wraps

Vegetables, prawns, chicken, fried rice!

On Sunday, we went to the Brick Lane area to all of the really cool markets. There was a beautiful flower market, tons of handmade art, jewelry, clothes, and crafts, and food from all over the world- Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Spain, Thailand, China, French, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, the Caribbean, Greece, Ethiopia... and I bet I'm forgetting some. I got excellent paella and an empanada, and Alex got Lithuanian food- a chicken breast stuffed with beef... or beef wrapped in chicken. Either way, it was delicious. The markets had tons of interesting people, once again from all over the world. It felt like a taste of authentic London- away from the touristy stuff and into the nitty-gritty. (Maybe "gritty" being the key word- lots of signs warned about pickpockets.)

We swung by the Museum of Childhood and learned about Punch and Judy, the Teletubbies, knife crime, and old Victorian dollhouses from the 1760s. I love how all the museums are free. I did not love being the only people over the age of 5 in the bathroom- what a zoo!

I'm an octopus! I wish we'd bought this book, Alex. Endless fun.

After that, Alex's uncle took us out for a great meal in a really cool "members only" club in the city. I felt very exclusive.

Over the weekend, we saw tons of different aspects of London, which I hadn't really planned on. I figured we'd just get a touristy taste. But our hours of walking and exploring paid off. By the time we got to the airport, we were really, really tired.

On our flight home, two guys were sitting behind me- an American and a Brit. The American made a Wizard of Oz reference ("I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore") which the British guy totally missed. He said he's never seen the movie. And when the British guy mentioned Formula 1 Racing, which is a HUGE sport in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East, the American had never even heard of it. I guess the world's not that small after all.

But... the whole world comes together in London! My favorite souvenirs of the trip, all found on the streets of London: a British penny, a Euro coin, an American penny, and a memorial poppy.

(Special thanks to my navigating buddy Alex and her iPhone. We would probably still be at the bus stop right now without you both.)