London, as told in pictures

While England is very much like the states, little differences are everywhere. Like this sign. Other great ones include "Kill your speed" and "Give Way" instead of yield.

Staring at the Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens map. Both are enormous parks, so enormous that we passed thousands of people and the place still seemed empty.

We met this awesome kid when he was chased out of Hyde Park by an insane Dachshund. We heard him screaming long before he crossed our path.



Sitting on the stairs outside the Prince Albert Memorial.











These are from the Prince Albert memorial in Hyde Park. The large, golden man is Prince Albert, a German consort to Queen Victoria who passed away at a young age. The story goes that Victoria mourned him for the rest of her life. He is surrounded by depictions of the four corners of the English Empire. There was Europe, Africa, Asia and America. The man in the turban is a Bedouin.

Traditional English breakfast after a walk through Portobello Market on our second morning in London. We sat up on the second floor alongside some American gals and watched crowds of people drift in and out of the market.

Arrow slits in the outer defensive wall surrounding Windsor Castle. According to my excellent tour guide to all things British, Jim, this is the only castle on the island which has never been attacked.

Windsor castle, where the English regents have lived for over 100 years. The queen was there, but we had to turn down an invitation to tea because of time restraints. Unfortunately we could not snap any photos while inside the castle, which was filled with the weapons used to defend the castle over the centuries, countless weapons encrusted with jewels, gold-covered pistols, a Rembrandt and the very bullet pulled from Admiral Nelson after the battle of Trafalgar.

Trafalgar Square, we climbed on the lions around the Admiral Nelson. If you walk down the road in the top left you will pass by Buckingham Palace and then arrive at Big Ben.

Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs (metopes of the Parthenon, Athens, Greece). Showcased in the British National Museum.

The Globe Theatre. The original burned down a while back but this replica was built on the same spot and showcases plays from the great Bill Shakespeare.

A new concept at the Tower Bridge. Supposedly, the images are projected from a real-time camera in NYC, near the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Eye of London is behind Elon

As of May 31 Londoners can no longer drink in the Underground. These chaps were but two of many people who showed up to protest the new laws. In an ironic twist, they protested by getting obliterated and shouting at the cops.

The English can be hard to understand, but this guy was completely unintelligible. He asked us for cigarettes, called us wankers and then stumbled off. Plus, he was a Manchester United fan, which is the equivalent of a NY Yankees fan. Probably explains his foul disposition.

We tried to fit as many people as we could into a British phone booth.