Kaleidoscope Project On Location: London-town

I got to Westminster Abbey too late to get in (I mean, I could have entered to hear Evensong, but I figured that a religious building was not the place to test the definition of "true worshipper").  But it still looks magnificent and wedding-ready on the outside!

A moving memorial dedicated to Richard the Lionheart . . .

. . . thoughtfully placed in the middle of the Parliament parking lot.  I can hear his thoughts now:  "I commanded the Crusade for this?"  Incidentally, my diligent research (i.e., reading Wikipedia) revealed that Rick here was actually a pretty racist dude.  Maybe the parking lot locale wasn't unintentional?

I love how enamored the British bobbies are with Big Ben, especially guy on the right.

EDIT:  Mountie rightfully (and Britishly) pointed out that Big Ben is actually the name of the bell within the clock and not the tower OR the clock!  True story.  Although it makes me wonder why the Brits decided to name the bell, the one thing you can't see?  Oh you crazy Brits!

Sunset over Westminster bridge.

Sarni and I always laugh at the fact that there's a burger joint in NYC called "Good Burger" and another burger joint called "Better Burger."  Hence, I was especially amused to find "Ultimate Burger" way on the other side of the pond.  Behold, the all-knowing Ultimate Burger.  So that's where he's been hiding.

The British National Museum - unfortunately, it took me so long to find it, I only had about an hour and a half to look around.  Half of this time I spent lost in a pretty terrifying Egyptian Mummy exhibit.  Oh, and by the time I finally found an exit, a guard stopped me and said, "We're closing - go back through the exhibit."  Not my finest moment.

This is a hall dedicated to the Age of Enlightenment.  I wandered up and down the aisles, marvelling over how much humanity has learned over the centuries.  Then I left the museum and realized that I must have walked straight past the Rosetta Stone and the Easter Island statue without realizing it.  So much for my enlightenment.


London.  On Canon Powershot.