Random Musings on this My Penultimate Day in London

As I sit here among the luggage that I've packed and re-packed at least three times anxiously trying to finish so I can go to the "swing dance party" next door I'm finding it very hard to believe that The Great London Adventure of 2010 is actually over. I have literally been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

I think it's fitting that we ended the day with a tour of the inside of Buckingham Palace since it was one of the first places we visited to see the changing of the guard. I also thought it was fitting that our final group meal was at the Hard Rock Cafe, an Americanized "pub," if you will, that was actually founded in London. We had lunch at the original Hard Rock cafe among the mementos of international music legends, past and present. Even our lunch was historical and cultural.

Following lunch I helped Kathryn to re-create pictures that she took in front of Westminster Abbey with her family when she was a child. Don't tell her, but I felt honored that she asked me to share that experience with her and I was so happy that she got her shots, especially the one that seemed impossible until the friendly Bobby allowed us behind the locked gates.

I wrapped up the evening and the trip with an impromptu outing to see Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. The story of Elphaba and Galinda was really sweet and it was fun to see the classic children's tale reinvented to explore the events before we first met Dorthy, Toto, Auntie Em et al. The only issue that I had was that near the end something kept getting in my eye! Maybe it's the theaters because I had the same problem with Love Never Dies.

I definitely ended my London experience on a high note: palaces, burgers, and theater, there's not much more I could ask for...Well, there is the fact that I never had fish and chips! I guess that will have to be first on the agenda next time I'm in London.

Pip pip cheerio!