london

On Saturday the weather was reasonably good (it was not raining) so we headed out to Greenwich for a look around. Getting out to Greenwich is unique as you go on the Docklands Light Railway, a train meets monorail meets tram concoction that services most of Londons eastern areas that are near the Thames. The DLR runs at numerous levels, sometimes you are on the ground or underground, but most of the time you are traveling four or five stories above ground as you weave in between buildings. The other unique thing about the journey is that everything is automated (there is no driver). This provides you with a great view as you pass through Canary Wharf on your way to Greenwich.

After three weeks of constant travel it was nice to get back to London and have some time to do nothing. After a few days of this I soon started hitting the pile of work that I had been thinking about throughout our travels. Emmas agency was not having much luck finding her work but this did not bother Emma as Jess was staying in London and the thought of going straight from touring Germany to an English hospital was a little too much. On our return we have found the weather in London to be much improved and there is a definite feel of spring in the air. There is lots of flowers in the parks and gardens and from nowhere hundreds of funny little squirrels have emerged.

For the last couple of days we have taken things fairly quietly as we were both suffering from PMSS (Post Museum Stress Syndrome). I got stuck into some work whilst Emma got tangled up in her yoga. We did make a few unguided shopping trips into London City which turned out very good. We visited the Queen for morning tea and explored the shops around the Piccadilly and Tottenham Court areas.

During our first week in England Emma was battling a nasty cold which unfortunately for me I managed to catch this week. Consequently we have not been as active this week as along with the cold I have had a fair bit of work to catch up on. On Tuesday we visited the Science Museum in South Kensington. It bears many similarities with Te Papa in Wellington in the fact its very hands on and combines Disneyland style rides with scientific facts and artifacts. After the British Museum it is not as awe inspiring but the size and scope of the content is still very impressive. Inside there was large displays for every form of transport, medicine, computers and agriculture. Unfortunately a good proportion of the displays are showing their age but thankfully it does look as if the Museum is in the process of an upgrade.

On Saturday after lunch at the Italian cafe we headed down the road to the British Museum. The museum is probably the most ironic in the world because inside you will find nothing to do with Britain per se. What the Museum should really be called is the Absolutely Anything that is not British Museum as it reads as a scrapbook of colonial British conquest and plunder across the world.  Inside there are thousands of historic items from Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Chinese, Polynesian (plus a few hundred other cultures) history. The Museum itself is absolutely huge with three wings and a central public atrium joining them all together. Each wing is devoted to a particular geographic/historic region. It is pretty amazing to wander through 8,000 years of human history seeing everything from early African tools to the most complex of Roman carvings.

Whilst I was waiting for Emma in the bank the other day I stumbled across a really nice yet very cheap Italian Cafe called Bar Centrale. Inside they sell toasted salmon and creme cheese bagels for 2.10 and soup and bread for 2.50. Considering you will pay 5-8 on a sandwich in some cafe's their value is second to none. To top things off they are really quick with their service so there is no waiting around. The other day Emma and I went back there and got two soups, two latte's and a salmon and creme cheese bagel for 8.20, great value for London. If you are in London the cafe is next door to the Russell Square underground station so its not hard to find at all.

It was Londons coldest night of the current winter, apparently it was -8 degrees Celcius. When we awoke the streets were all white and Londons transportation system was in chaos.

The view from our dining room this morning

Still it is not as bad as a cold snap experienced recently in China (photos courtesy of Jill).

Yesterday the weather was a lot better than the previous day so in the afternoon we headed into town. Emma had an urge to checkout a medical library. I am allergic to libraries and the thought of a medical library freaked me out a little so I decided to go checkout Apples largest European store on Regent Street. Regent Street itself is cool enough but a really cool, two story Apple Store on Regent Street is just my idea of heaven. It was not really a store, more like an Apple Euro-Disney with presentations, music and lots of people. It did not take long (maybe 20 seconds) before I was reaching for the credit card so I could get the latest iLife and a tiny little iPod Shuffle. I already have a big iPod but the little ones are just too cute looking (and I justified my purchase by telling myself Emma could use it). After what felt like a few minutes (but turned out to be two hours) I went back to the library to show Emma my new toys.

The past couple of days have been fairly relaxed after two weeks of constant movement. Having a flat to chill out in has meant there is not as much pressure to go and see things when its 1 degree outside and snowing. I have been catching up with work whilst Emma is reading up on a number of countries we are soon to visit. Yesterday afternoon we braved the rain and icy wind to checkout the  Tate Modern gallery. Whilst we had both been there previously it is still a really great place to visit and has an awe inspiring approach along the Thames.

It snowed this afternoon in London which caused chaos at the railway stations. We did intend to go out to Illford but when we arrived at Liverpool Street Station all the trains going east were cancelled. There were hundreds of people standing around not quite sure what to do. Fortunately we got out of the station just before rush hour hit and the snow got worse.

Cancelled trains at Liverpool Street Station