London

We spent the last four days of our R&R in London.  We both greatly enjoyed the city and all the events included.  It was nice to begin our R&R with a relaxing time in Scotland and finish up with a faster paced, city life.  Ryan and I enjoyed both aspects and feel we would want to include this mixture of relaxation and recreation into future R&R trips.  Hence the name R&R, rest and recreation, or is it relaxation and recreation. :)

Our first full day in London was spent with the morning at British Museum.  We thought it appropriate to visit one museum and what better time, since it was raining Thursday morning.  Highlight of the museum was the Rosetta Stone and all the various Greek sculptures.  After the rain cleared, we ventured to the other side of the city with help from the awesome buses, to visit London Tower and Tower Bridge.  We chose to take the Tower Bridge experience and go inside, learn how the bridge was built and is operated today.  I am always impressed to learn how structures were built so long ago and how they are still working today.

After Tower Bridge, we meandered over to the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey.  All were very impressive.  I have seen so many pictures of Big Ben, and it was impressive to walk across Westminster Bridge and see Big Ben on the other side.  Westminster Abbey, sight of the Royal Wedding was extraordinary with all the fine details.  At dinner we found a pamphlet for Stonehenge, which led to our events Friday.

Friday morning we went to see the Changing of the Guards.  It was nice to see, but a bit overwhelming with all the people.  We saw the guards approaching and entering the gates, but it was hard to see the actual "changing."  The afternoon was spent riding a bus to Stonehenge.  Stonehenge has always been something I have wanted to see, and I am glad I saw it.  To put it simply, it's stones.  But it is incredible to see how they are situated and stacked.  All the myths and legends behind Stonehenge is fascinating.  Our drive back to London took much longer than expected, which was all the more reason to go out for drinks with new friends.

Saturday, our last full day, was spent touring the theaters of London and a bit of shopping.  I made a nice addition to my shoe collection and thanks to Ryan's help, I found a couple dresses.  Our theatre tour began in the afternoon with The Lion King!!  I was so excited.  The show was as fantastic as the reviews claim.  We enjoyed Lion King so much, Ryan decided we should look for another show.  We decided on Stomp!  Stomp is not just about music, it also includes a large assortment of dance and comedy.  The performers do not speak during the show, but that does not stop the humor.  It was amazing to see what they used for instruments and their ability to sync the sounds.  Much too difficult for me, but impressive to watch.

Oh, I forgot to mention.  The London Underground system is phenomenal and incredibly fun.  For some reason, my bird skills were in tip top shape and I correctly navigated ourselves through the Underground and bus system.

London was a great ending to a great R&R.  It was very difficult to return to Novorossiysk.  I look forward to our next R&R, location yet to be decided.  Any suggestions?  Ryan is thinking somewhere that includes snowboarding and cozy cabins (for me).

Enjoy the pictures!  I decided to do 3 separate albums.  It is difficult to upload pictures with are slow internet, so smaller albums with fewer pictures is easiest.

Scotland: Aberdeen, Inverness, Drive to Stirling


Scotland: Stirling, Edinburgh, Train to London


London