Piccadilly Circus - I still don't understand why they call an intersection a circus. Where are the clowns and dancing bears?
Apparently the Queen shops here. I personally find Harrod's a little bit more exciting, but Fortnum and Mason is pretty posh.I wonder is she's ever bought either of these:
I went to my first real opera. The Royal Opera had a production of Turandot and since there happened to be a show while I was there
instead of a Royal Ballet performance I decided to splurge (seriously - if you want to see what's going on onstage, those tickets aren't cheap!). The performance was incredible. I was a little distracted by the text and sometimes felt like I was missing the visual performance because I was trying to read instead. The affect of the chorus in the background was amazing, and to top it off, Ben Heppner was the lead role!Of course I did a lot of shopping while I was there. Bought a bunch of things that I'm proud of, but disappointingly, I found out that Thomas Pink shirts don't look perfect on me, so I didn't fulfill an item on my wishlist. That and they didn't have the right size in the vest I wanted. But, I did find another Jermyn Street store that I snatched up more crisp shirts from!
I finally got to Portobello Market:
It was lots of fun. Too many people in spots, but fun to be in the middle of everything. I ended up buying an antique bracelet (although I doubt its true antiquity). Oh, I also bought lots of fruit too. Raspberries, kiwi, apricots...yummy!
Any movie fans recognize this?
I was running out of shows that were in town that I wanted to watch, so I decided to go to the Blue Man Group. All the parts that you've seen in promotions or whatever - well, they're the best parts. It's an ok show I suppose, but that being said, I wouldn't recommend it to many people. There are many more shows out there which are better. If you're really wanting to see a show, and there's nothing else, fine, go see this one, but other than that...don't bother.
I made it to Trafalgar Square, and although I didn't go into the National Gallery (not high enough on my list of priorities) I did dunk my feet in the huge fountain. There was some kind of rally going on about conflict or something or another going on in Turkey/Cyprus/Greece...I'm not really sure (you know me and my lack of worldly knowledge). I also saw the church of St. Martin in the Fields! Yes, the only reason I know of it is because of their chamber ensemble.I really wanted to get to some of the gardens in and around London, but I knew that if I got to one, that would instantly be saying goodbye to a couple hours, and there was just too much to do. So late in the evening after I'd finished my barrage of activities for the day, I made my way to Kensington Gardens to check it out a bit. To get there, I walked on this street filled with houses for ambassadors or something. I love big/pretty houses. Kensington Gardens was a little blah. I couldn't find the memorial for Princess Diana because it was getting dark (bad eyes) and because there weren't really good directions on how to get there. When the park closed, I wanted to make my way through Hyde Park to get to a tube station, and after walking for a REALLY long time in the pitch black (I am definitely the perfect candidate for laser eye surgery) I met up with some park security who showed me on a map where I was, and made me realise just how big the park was. I took a detour and found a tube and after a great day, just crashed for the night.
Sidebar: I know it's ghetto...but I love Primark.
I finally spent some time in the museums. I didn't have enough time to go through the whole Natural History Museum, but I did go through the whole Dino Gallery. You know that often I care more about the design of a museum rather than the content, and this exhibit was a 
great mix of ideas. I don't really have any pictures of it, but I went through the whole Science Museum and it was alright I suppose. Not as many interactive parts as I would have liked. It seemed like all the interactive parts were geared towards a younger audience (due to where in the museum they were located), which is unfortunate, because people of all ages should be exposed to tactile things rather than just having the learn from reading copy.
I'd seen the changing of the guards in the winter, and of course I wanted to see the redcoats and bear hats, so I joined the crowd one more time to watch it all again. Sure, I need to read up about why they walk x number of times back and forth and what the ceremony means and such, but it's touristy and I'm a tourist. I really want to experience as much as I can when I travel, and this was just another thing. I wonder what the guards are thinking during the ceremony.
"I am wearing the coolest looking hat ever...too bad I can't see where I'm..." *as he walks right into my camera* (no...just kidding...I sort of feel bad that I'm taking pictures of them like they're on display - but I guess they are).
I crossed of LOTS of things off my "To Do in London" list (although there's still many more things on it). I got around to touring Royal Albert Hall and loved it. While I was there, I also found out that the Proms were on. I bought tickets to Proms 3 (including Debussy's La Mer) and had a blast! I was where people all over the world were listening to on their radios! Wheeeee!
So, I never knew why they were called the "Proms". The only context for "prom" that I know is a fancy school dance. Well, obviously it's not that. "Proms" is actually short for promenade because during the Proms, there's an area right in front of the stage that's open to the "Prommers". These are the people who promenade/sit/lie in this area as the concert goes on. There's even a nice fountain in the middle of it!**********
Of course, in London, I also stumbled upon the premiere of Superman Returns, but you can see pictures from that here.
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