June 27, 2007: 23:42

Here are a couple of observations regarding toilets on transportation: There is often a breeze when you sit down that Kristy does not care for, but I would say it is not unpleasant. In a bus bathroom, there is an emergency release on the window in case you get trapped. Which I guess is a good thing, but I would hate to be in the position to ever have to use it. When flying at 35,000 feet, the toilet flush could possibly take a piece of your clothing with it if you weren't careful.

And now, the trip...

Our flights were pretty smooth. Very long, but smooth. I did leave my Discover Card at a vendor in JFK, and was told to go to three different places to pick it up from security, the last being the gate for my flight. Which was good because the flight was about to board. Unfortunately, the security guard never brought my card and said I then had to go down into the basement to get it, and miss my flight! I said no, I will just cancel the frigging card, and got on the plane.

Here are some pictures of what we did today:

Here is Buckingham Palace. The flag over the entrance means that the Queen is in residence today. When Princess Diana died, many Brits were in an outrage that the Queen did not fly the flag at half mast, but the Queen was not in residence then and she maintained that Diana was not royalty anymore anyhow. Bloody Queen!







And here are the guards. I remember them wearing those big tall hats when I was here last time, but maybe that was the one they made stand outside the Guards Museum that I was remembering. These guards do a sharp little march every half hour or so that serves no purpose but to impress the gawking tourists, so we obliged and gawked while they marched about 20 paces away from the gate and then back.





A shot of the ornate gold-plated gate at the entrance to St. James's Park. It's a lovely park with giant ducks. The ducks here are much larger than the ducks in the U.S.









This is the Victoria Memorial located in front of Buckingham Palace. Queen Victoria is facing the Mall, flanked by the Angel of Justice and the Angel of Truth. Behind her facing the Palace is a figure representing Charity. Above her is Victory. It's quite pretty with a pool of water and several fountains surrounding it.












Here is a view from the Southeast, featuring the Angel of Justice. Very dramatic against the cloudy sky. Nice job, Kristy!
















The Mall.

And we did a lot more today but it is late and I must get up early tomorrow so I'll have to post the pics later. We also went to Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and on the London Eye. Goodnight!