The theatre - particularly getting half-price theatre tickets from the booth at Leicester Square.
	Harrods - particularly their scrumptious, exotic middle eastern pistacio-and-honey laden pastries.
	Trafalgar Square - particularly at night when the lights gleam up through the fountains.
	The National Gallery - particularly when wandered about extensively on a cold, rainy day.
	Leicester and Piccadilly Squares - particularly when you pause to watch people and listen to street musicians.

 

New Year's Eve! Happy Y2K... I know these are blurry, but I took them with a cheap camera! Anyway, this is Big Ben chiming midnight as we rolled in the new millennium! Yes, I was on Westminster Pier just under the clock as it chimed! Of course, you couldn't hear the chimes because of all the shouting and the 30 minutes of exploding fireworks over the Thames! This might give you some indication of the spirit and mood of the evening! In front (L-R) is Jonathan, Kerri, Christi, and me. The people in the back were these wild Australians we met. Why London...  As cities go, London is pretty cool. I love people-watching in the Leicester, Piccadilly, and Trafalgar squares -- and the good ethnic restaurants in China Town, Soho and Brick Lane. The National Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts are superb! And the British Museum is supposedly the museum other museums aspire to be.    The Beefeaters have guarded the Tower since its beginnings and to this day they live with their families in these houses inside the Tower.  My brother Hal came to see me in August 1999! Here he is at the entrance to the Tower of London. This crossing passes over the moat which was finally filled in with dirt and grass in the 19th century because it didn't ever drain well and had become a cess pool!   Here I am standing in front of the Tower Bridge which crosses the Themes just in front of [you guessed it] the Tower of London!

Around London... A big red double decker tour bus... This is my friend Brandon (a fellow Auburn alum that I met when we were both studying in Vienna). Brandon is an engineer and lives in sunny, scenic Saudi Arabia. (He hates it there...) Anyway, he stopped through London in January 2000 on his way back from a trip to the States. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese! This is my friend Dawnn who came over to spend a week with me in February 2000. We're standing outside the Cheshire Cheese, one of the oldest pubs in London. It was re-built in 1667 after it burned in the Great Fire of London. Thanksgiving in England I guess it's fairly obvious that for historical reasons, Thanksgiving as such is not celebrated in England. My colleagues were convinced we'd all be singing My Country Tis Of Thee (which by the way is sung to the tune of God Save The Queen... goodness didn't those Pilgrims really did not endear themselves to the crown.) Anyway, I tried to explain that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, not waving flags. This year I gave thanks that I wasn't spending Thanksgiving alone at a McDonald's in Milan like last year! Here are some shots of me and some American friends who joined me in my home for the big day. Wendy and Frank came all the way from New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving 1999 with me! (Thanks guys!) More friends on Turkey Day: From left to right, this is Jon, Colleen and Kerri.  Jon and Kerri are both graduate students at colleges in London. (I actually knew Kerri in Vienna!) And Colleen is an ex-pat working here like me! The Limelight... This is what Dawnn and I looked like at 2:00 in the morning after hours of dancing in the disco that is supposedly where the punk rock movement began!