Look to the right before crossing.

Whew. What a day. My eyes are getting super heavy as I sit down to write. Our first day and a half in London has been jam-packed and has taken us to many of the famous sites. And yes, if on foot in London, do remember to look to the right first, instead of the left, before crossing the street. The little cultural idiosyncrasies really do make make all the difference. We enraged several a taxi driver during our first few hours in London as pedestrians. Stupid Americans.

Upon arriving yesterday we saw Buckingham Palace. I am sad to report that the guards are now behind closed gates so I did not have the opportunity to try out my jokes. We then went Abbey Road. Home of the famous Beatles album cover. We then strolled through the Notting Hill district which is full of posh homes and shops. It is a quaint neighborhood that feels more like a suburb than a major city.

Today was a whirlwind. We started the day with Westminster Abbey. We were able to take a guided tour which we enjoyed a lot. It was interesting to see all the famous tombs and memorials. One individual in particular to note that is buried at the Abbey is Darwin. The guide noted the irony and we all had a laugh. We went through several museums which, like the Smithsonian, are free. We toured the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum. The National Gallery houses famous paintings spanning across several decades and continents. Including Monet's waterlillies painting and Van Gough's sunflowers. At the British Museum we were able to see the Rosetta Stone and pieces from the sphinx at the Pyramids of Giza. We toured Charles Dickens' house which was a little bit of a let down. They are currently remodeling it in anticipation of the 2012 Olympics.

We ate dinner tonight at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, 'Jamie's Italian'. We have been watching his show, 'Food Revolution' and decided to try it out. The food was delicious. Fresh food, of course. That is his mantra. The restaurant is in the Canary Wharf district which is primarily commercial. We felt like locals, eating with people just getting off from work and meeting for drinks and dinner. It was nice to get that type of perspective.

Tomorrow we have tickets to Wicked and I am pumped. I cannot wait to see it. We plan on seeing the London Eye tomorrow. Jury is still out on weather John will be able to actually get me to go up.

London so far has been fantastic and we are thoroughly enjoying our time here. The people seem to have such a fun-loving, adventurous spirit.

More later.