It's My Birthday!!!

There will be fireworks in London tonight, and I will see them. I am also going out with Paul, his wife Donna, and a friend of theirs to a Brazilian restaurant. Though I would like to say that the fireworks are for me, they are actually to celebrate a failed attempt to overthrow the government.

Remember remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot.
I see no reason why Gunpowder, Treason
Should ever be forgot.

But, I will have pictures of the fireworks tomorrow. What did I do yesterday and the day before that? Well, I arrived in London on Tuesday. I didn't do much more than arrive at Paul's home and go to the "London On Board" gaming group.

The group meets at a pub in London. For dinner, I ordered the Ham, Eggs, and Chips. It was very good. We played Basket Boss, Shipyard, and Fzzzt!.

On Wednesday, I went on the Free London Tour. I enjoyed the Berlin tour, and I suspect that I will enjoy the Paris tour. The tour guide's name was Alfie, and I had to stifle the lame "What's it all about" joke throughout the tour.


The tour started at Wellington's statue near Hyde Park. The next stop was the Wellington Arch. Alfie said that, at one time, the arch had the largest statue in the world on it, commemorating Wellington's defeat of the French at Waterloo. Then, when the English decided that they wanted to befriend the French, they changed the statue to the lady of peace.


The next major stop was Buckingham Palace. You can tell that the Queen is currently staying in the Palace because her family's flag is flying.

Later on, we visited the Triumphal Arch, and Alfie pointed out an interested part of the arch. Nobody "nose" why it is there, though some say that it is the perfect height for horseback riders to rub for good luck.


The tour ended at Westminster Abbey and the Parliament Building. At this point, Alfie needed someone to demonstrate what happens to a traitor (or more specifically, what happened to Guy Faulks). I volunteered, and you can now see me in the process of being hung. Later, I would be drawn and quartered.

Upon the completion of the tour, I went back to Parliament building and was able to get inside to watch some "House of Commons" action. The procedure was interesting to watch, but it quickly grew tiresome. What the building did provide, was a nice and clean bathroom to put on my warm long underwear. It was getting cold out. Outside of the building, another nice couple from Brazil took my picture, and then I took theirs.

Then I went back to Westminster Abbey and found another person to take my picture outside of that beautiful church. I sort of wanted to go inside, but at 15 pounds, I just couldn't justify it.

I had an hour to spare before heading to the Swiggers gaming club, so I went over to the National Gallery. I was more excited by the paintings by the Italian masters and by the Impressionists, so I headed straight towards them. I took the paintings in, and then headed over to a nearby church with what looked to be a Crypt. Little did I know that this was simply a coffee shop. Blah.

Then it was off to another English Pub for gaming. I ordered a nice Vegetable Hot Pot, which had a thick layer of sliced potatoes over some vegetables.

Anyhow, I am leaning more towards Paris now. But the present is packed full of things to do. Today, I plan on taking it a bit easier. I will probably go out and see 1 or 2 things before heading back to Paul's home for some games and then fireworks and dinner. Cheers!