Okay! Another update here...

On Tuesday, I went down to Leicester Square to pick up a third Lion King Musical ticket to go with the two tickets that Andrew and I had bought on Monday evening. While there, I ran into Wes and Erin, who are Kevin C's friends and whom I had met on the first night of my stay in London. Together, the three of us went to Tate Modern Gallery, spending approximately 2 hours there. The Tate Modern has some really neat paintings and structures, and then some other stuff that was a little too interpretive in my opinion... So I didn't get as much out of that as Erin did, who's an artist. We parted ways thereafter, and I went back to Covent Garden for a cornish pasty, an English food with beef and potatos wrapped in a pastry. I headed back to The Generator to change, and then walked over to The British Museum, which is as impressive as a building as the contents inside. I walked through the corridors quickly (3 hrs) taking a lot of pictures, reading very little, and wincing from my hurting feet. I left the museum just as the sun was dropping behind the horizon, around 5:30pm. I met Andrew and his Aussie friend Annabelle again at Leicester Square and we had a quick Chinese dinner before going to the Lycium Theatre for the The Lion King showing. While The Lion King followed the original Disney movie a littl too closely in my opinion, it boasted a great set of costumes and has some fabulous scene transitions. Overall, it was an entertaining show.

Wednesday would be my last day in London. I packed up my bags, had breakfast, talked to Harsh (a fellow from India studying in London and bunking in my dorm) for a bit, then checked out, locking my luggage in the luggage storage at the Generator. My first stop of the day was The Tower of London. And it is in places like that, which started to be built in the 11th century, that show the history of England, and its long tradition of Monarchy. I spent a good 3 hours there, starting with a 1 hour guided tour given by a Beefeater (Royal Guard of the Tower), then venturing off on my own of a little while. For lunch, I had traditional Fish & Chips at the Sherlock Holmes' Pub/Restaurant. The last big item on my list was to go back to the Westminister Abbey and see in the interior. I did just that, and thought it was fantastic. It's an incredible display of burials and memorials, most of them elequantly decorated with impressive sculptures. I found myself with a little bit of time before needing to get my luggage, so I stopped by The National Portait Gallery for some 20 minutes, walking very quickly through a few halls.

FINALLY, London is checked off my list. I picked up my luggage from The Generator and scooted over the tube for the last time. After some walking, I got to EasyCar, which was a shack in the middle of a parking lot, and got my car keys. The guy working was like, "The car's somewhere in the parking lot. Just go out there, press the button, and look for the blinking lights." Duh, Okay.

Driving on the left side of the road isn't very difficult at all. Getting out of London during rush hour is. After a couple wrong turns, I was on my way! I continue to approach the car from the wrong side and reach for my seat belt over my left shoulder. I've only made the mistake of turning onto the wrong side of the road once, and it was very momentary. So nothing too bad so far. I still don't know how to get the gas casket open, so I'll have to get some help the next time I need to fill up. I enjoy driving here however. When you can regularly drive 80 - 90 mi/hr (~140 km/hr), it's fun. At first, I wasn't sure how the roundabouts worked, but things are falling into place as I get more and more familiar with it. Got to Krista's only after 2.5 hrs of getting the car (granted the ride was estimated at 1.5 hrs, but traffic and wrong turns can take its toll). Krista has been a fantabulous and inviting host... and it's much appreciated.

Today, I had a later start on the day. I look my time with a shower, breakfast, and some TV before setting out around 10am. I went to Oundle (pronounced "Andle") which is a small town some 15 mins away, with some 17th - 18th century architecture, as well as some older 13th century buildings as well. After a few hours and lunch there, I drove a short ways North to the city of Stamford. Stamford has an even richer 1000+ year history that began with the Saxons and the Danes during the Norman Conquest. So by the 14th century, Stamford was one of the richest towns in England. Furthermore, Stamford was designated as the first Conservation Area in the country in 1967, so most of its heritage is preserved. I bought a little Town Trail pamphlet from the Tourist Information Centre and walked around the main area with its guidance and descriptions. The city a very ancient look and is truly breathtaking, as some of you will see in my photos (now 680+ of them).

Now I'm back at Krista's waiting for her to come back so that we can go for dinner.

By the way, I can read the comments you leave. Just had problems for that one day. Hmm... and I'm on free Internet (being at Krista's place), so feel free to email or post comments!