London Times

It is official, London is my favorite city in the world. It is hard to believe this is my first time here, and I might not have believed it had I not come here, but a love of London is contagious. Unfortunately my time in London on this whirlwind trip was extremely short, but I think that fact makes my introductory statement even stronger. There is just something about London, it just feels right, it is hard to pin-point, but I just felt really comfortable there and had a great time experiencing the city.

On Tuesday morning we visited a school in suburban London and then drove into Central London to our hotel, located between Hyde Park and Green Park, just a block from the Underground. After checking into our hotel we boarded the Jubilee Line at the Green Park Underground Station and took the tube out to St. John's Wood for our scheduled visit at the American School in London. Following a great visit we walked a few blocks down to a neighborhood French restaurant and enjoyed a delicious lunch. After that we boarded the Underground, headed back to our hotel, changed and regrouped for a few hours of late afternoon site-seeing.

Our hotel was centrally located. We walked through Green Park, officially called The Green Park, a 53 acre green space of wooded meadows in the heart of London:

and when we emerged from the park we were looking at Buckingham Palace. Just in case you have been living under a rock, Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II:

From Buckingham Palace we walked east through St. James's Park on our way to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. St. James's Park is another urban oasis in Central London with a lake and beautiful views of Buckingham Palace:

The lake in St. James's Park was full of waterfowl, including some very large pelicans. I don't know about you, but I was not expecting to come across pelicans in the middle of London. As we emerged from St. James's Park we walked a couple blocks through British government buildings and then around a corner and came upon Westminster Abbey:

In the interest of keeping all of these sites straight, Westminster Abbey is the coronation and burial site for British monarchs. Over 700 years old, the Abbey is an impressive and distinct building in Central London, just across the street from the Houses of Parliament. We were there at 3:35pm and the last visitors are allowed inside at 3:30pm - missed it by *that much.*

Since we couldn't go in Westminster Abbey we went around the building and this is what you see:

Officially called the Palace of Westminster, most people know this building as the Houses of Parliament. The 300-feet tall tower is Victoria Tower, which houses the archives. The entrance at the base of the tower is the Sovereign's Entrance to the Parliament - used by the Queen for official ceremonies. As you walk around the Palace to the River Thames side you see the most famous tower, the over 300-feet tall Clock Tower, or Big Ben:

In case you didn't know, the term Big Ben does not refer to the entire tower, just the bell in the clock tower. The whole complex has over 1,100 rooms and some random facts include:

> No animals may enter the Palace of Westminster other than guide dogs for the blind

> Members of Parliament may not refer to one another by name and may use either "my honourable friend" (same party) or "the honourable lady/gentleman" (opposition party)

> No hats may be worn inside the Palace

> Members are not allowed to have their hands in their pockets

...and my favorite:

> Members may not eat or drink in the chamber, except the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is allowed an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget statement

From the Houses of Parliament we walked up the street, saw Downing Street, kept going and came across Trafalger Square. The National Gallery is on one side of the square:

In the middle of the square is Nelson's Column, guarded by four lion statues. You can see Big Ben in the background of this picture as well:

Known as a venue for politican demonstrations, the square was half blocked off when we arrived around 4:15pm because the Queen was arriving around 5:00pm to dedicate a new art exhibit at the National Gallery. It was getting dark and cool, so we decided to move along as opposed to waiting 45 minutes to spot Queen Elizabeth. Our quick tour on London's tourist sites was complete when we passed through Picadilly Circus a few blocks from our hotel:

Located near the Theatre District, Picadilly Circus is a version of Times Square in London. The term circus is from the Latin for "circle," and today it is a major convergence of streets in Central London.

Later that late afternoon I had a meeting with a number of Vanderbilt alumni at The Arts Club. A gentlemen's club founded by Charles Dickens and others in 1863, today an exclusive and fashionable venue where one Vanderbilt alum is a member. The next morning we awoke early and I spent my last day driving on the left side of the road back out to Heathrow so we could board a plane for Geneva, Switzerland.