Tuesday, May 8th

We spent the morning doing life maintenance.  That meant in this case two things.  First, Sainsbury for some groceries.  That took more time than it should have because the bus line was having some sort of problem.  Took forever for our return bus to show up.  The first one drove by without stopping.  The second nearly didn’t stop.  We got the sense that it was some sort of work stoppage/union program.  The driver seemed angry and glaring.  We got home with groceries anyway. 

And then spent the rest of the morning planning Scotland.  Which was surprisingly necessary.  We’re a bit wary that there might not be much to do up there.  We’ve asked 3 English people (there is some sort of anti-Scottish thing…).  One asked why we were bothering to go.  The second said he’s only been there a couple times in his life.  The third goes 2+ times/year.  We’re waiting right now for an email from him with sightseeing ideas.  But, we’re ploughing ahead.  We figure this is THE chance for us to go there.  We did though, start with 9 days planned, but have reduced it to 8 and are taking a more leisurely drive back to Heathrow airport where we’ll spend one last night before a morning non-stop back to LA.

Afternoon was touring the Olympics site!  We took part in a public tour that skirted the site.  Security is such that no tourists are allowed inside at this point – the games are in less than 2 months.  Construction is still going on.  They were doing some sort of dry run today.  With our guide we walked the area around the site and took a lot of pictures.

The department store John Lewis has a 3^rd floor store overlooking the Olympics site (with LOTs of things for sale…).

Took the tube back to St. Paul’s Cathedral – to me the grander of the two (versus Westminster Abbey).  We were there for evensong, which we understood to be sung liturgy, but it was really just mass with some singing by kids in the choir.  So, we left after 20 minutes.

The Olympics site is in London Transport Zone 3 – the furthest we’ve been from home…

Spent a good part of the evening in our backyard.  It’s actually a patio built over the lower floor.  But, it’s large.  It has a covered area with a table and chairs.  So, for dinner we ate soup, drank Australian wine, ate English cheeses, and had French desserts.  First time we’ve spent any time in our backyard.  Despite that, the backyard is very useful to us because it means that all the rooms in the apartment face open space and are light.

Had a great evening!