Leslie and I just got back from our European vacation to London, Paris, and Rome. It was a great time!
You can find some photos here
We left for London about 6:50 p.m. on Sunday May 15, out of Chicago, connected through Boston, and arrived in London about 10:30 a.m. on Monday.

On Monday, we went to Westminster Abbey, saw Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, and went to the National Gallery (where we saw Michelangelo’s the Entombment, Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks, Rembrandt’s Selft Portrait, some Monet, and Van Gogh.). That evening we ate at a chain called Garfunkel’s Resaurant. I had the lamb shank and potatoes, it was a british meal… Afterwards we went to a pub called The Clarence where I had a “Cornish Coaster” Ale. Which I enjoyed much more than the meal.

On Tuesday, we went to Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern (where we saw some Picasso and Monet), saw Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, National Portrait Gallery (which had some portraits of William Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Henry VII, Henry VIII), Picadilly Circus, saw Buckingham Palace, the Wellington Arch, Green Park, St. James Park, and Hyde Park. That evening we went to the Sherlock Holmes pub and had some Sherlock Holmes Ale, and a Carlings. Both of which were pretty good. Then we went to the Green Coat Bay pub.

On Wednesday, we went to the Victoria & Albert Museum (which has quite a bit of sculpture), Science Mueum (which was more geared towards kids, and we probably didn’t need to go), British Museum (which has the rosetta stone, and some sculptures from the Parthenon), Kensington Gardens (at which a model shoot was going on, and I think we are the attractive couple in the background of a handbag advertisement). We ate at a place called Marquis of Westminster, where I had the pork, apple, and cider sausage, which was really good! Leslie had fish and chips. While I thought it tasted like the sea, she enjoyed it. Afterwards we went to a couple of pubs. The Nags Head, where I had a MacMullen’s AK, and Leslie had a Pimm’s Original. After that we went to the Cittie of York where I had a Samuel Smith and an Organic Wheat Beer.

We enjoyed London… the pubs, the cool weather (it was chilly – in the 60’s), the phone booths, and the great underground system. But by Thursday it was time to head to Paris, but that’s for another post.