London

Pre Flight Drama:

Bryan and I had about a week long return in Ithaca before heading back to the airport to visit my parents who currently living in Cyprus.  Two days before our flight was scheduled I got an email saying that our flight from Ithaca to Newark had been cancelled due to weather.  The planes that fly out of the Ithaca are so small that cancel flights days in advance (apparently) because they are positive they have no chance making it.  The email offered no alternative but to call a number to rebook.  I called that number only to hear a message that due to the high volume of calls they were not taking any calls.  Seriously.  After the message they automatically hung up on me.  I freaked out for a minute and then started calling every other number Continental had listed online anywhere.  Finally we were rebooked on a flight out of Ithaca (ahead of the coming snow storm) a day and a half earlier. This was probably around 8 or 9 pm and and we had to be at the airport by 4 am for our 6 am flight the next morning.  Fortunately I had already packed and we had a great friend who was willing to take us to the airport at dark o’ clock in the morning but it was a stressful evening.  In the end I was glad our flight had changed because it gave us a little more time to explore in London and I think it was probably easier for us to fly during the day than at night. 

The first two days we were able to tour the Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Globe Theater and St. Paul’s Cathedral.  We also enjoyed walking along the Millennial Bridge and Westminster Bridge to enjoy views of Big Ben and Parliament.

In front of the Tower BridgeTower of LondonNorah loved riding on the Underground and she insisted on standing up and holding on to the pole

On our way back from Cyprus we had one more full day in London which we spent in the British Museum and watching buskers perform in Covent Garden.  One of the coolest parts of the British Museum (for us) was stumbling upon an entire gallery devoted to artifacts from Cyprus.  We were overwhelmed trying to look at the exhibits on Assyria and Egypt.  It was so much more interesting to look at this one small room because we had some context from our trip.  Many of the artifacts were from sites we had visited.  I really think it is time for Britain to return some of their loot to the countries they took them from.  That museum has such a glut of artifacts that they can’t possibly be appreciated.  I think they could give away 1/2 of what they have in that museum and it would still be overkill.  We probably walked through at least half a dozen galleries in the museum that just displayed amphoras and other Greek pottery.  Seriously?  Who has time to look at those.  Nobody does, they just walk through the rooms so they can get to the mummies!  I, as a tourist, would much rather see those artifacts in displayed in museums in the countries where they were discovered. 

This was probably Norah’s favorite group of performers in Covent Garden (mine was definitely the unicyclist).  We went down stairs after taking this picture and Norah started dancing to their music.  Eventually more people in the crowd were watching her dance than the orchestra.  I think she was good for business.  We also went out to dinner with my cousin Maren who lives in London.  I wish I had taken a picture with her but I didn’t think to.