Mind the gap!

Our group is definitely still adjusting from the jet lag. I accidentally slept in later today than I planned to...thank goodness the Brits enjoy taking their Saturday mornings slowly. We met with a travel agent today and booked our trip to Ireland (which was a stressful experience to say the least), explored Surbiton a little bit, and then headed into town. Today there was a celebration in London for the Lord Mayor and we were hoping to catch a firework display at 5:00 on the Thames River. By the time we got there, the crowd to get out of the tube station and onto the embankment was crazy! We finally made our way out at 5:04 and saw 2 min. of fireworks before the show ended. Everyone looked around so confused like...is that it? One British guy even came up and asked us if the show had started earlier than scheduled. Sorry, England, I'm not impressed. I've seen bigger in a backyard on the 4th of July : )

After that disappointment, we made our way across the Thames to a carnival that was a part of the Lord Mayor's celebration and were able to get some neat pictures. Then another trip back to Harrod's to explore this incredible and gigantic department store and then dinner and dessert with two friends from Baylor who are here with Baylor in Great Britain!

Looking up at the London Eye! This thing was absolutely beautiful all light up against the Thames River.

Parliament and Big Ben. Breath taking! This is when I have to pinch myself and remind myself I'm in London.

This makes me smile every time I see it. In each tube station, this phrase is written along the platform to remind riders to "mind the gap" between the platform and the train. I can imagine that way too many umbrellas have been lost down there. They also say it over the intercom in their British accents as you enter the tube. So fun!

The son of the owner of Harrod's was killed in the car crash with Priness Diana. This is a memorial in the ground level of the store.

The poor British don't have the excitement of Thankgiving around the corner so they have set their sights directly on Christmas! Posing with some giant Christmas friends in the Harrod's gift shop.

My Baylor friends, Eric and Mark, took Lisa and I to get some yummy crepes and gelatto. My first real European tastes of these treats! The nice thing about walking so much here is that you can et dessert almost every day without worrying about it!

Baylor friends in Britain! So good to see these two guys. I'm excited for more hang out time to come.