London (4-6 November 2008)

After a couple hours' sleep on the eight-hour flight from Nairobi, we arrive in Zurich at about 7am on Tuesday 4 November, and just make our connecting flight to London. Arriving at Heathrow at about 8:30am local time, we're soon on the underground train to Chiswick, west of the city. It's a surreal experience less than 24 hours after leaving Kigali.
In London we're staying with people we met in Africa - Simon and Tracey are Aussies who moved to London straight after the Intrepid tour, and kindly offered us a room. After some lunch and a shower, we head into the city to see some of the sights. Our wandering takes us past the magnificent Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. It's an incredible contrast from the scenery we've just experienced in Africa! The highlight is attending Evensong at Wesminster Abbey, where the clear voices of the choir resonate endlessly through the cavernous space.

On Wednesday (5/11) we underground it into the city with Simon and Tracey and see all the other main sights of the city on a tourist bus - it's a good way to see the city with limited time. We climb the dome of the beautiful St Paul's Cathedral and have lunch in the crypt, visit the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, take a boat trip on the Thames, and wander through Hyde Park under the amazing colours of the autumn trees. At Oxford Street Mariska successfully shops for a warm jacket, and back in Chiswick we wrap up the day with a beef and Guinness pie at the Bulls Head Tavern on the Thames.

In town the next day the first stop is a haircut for Andrew, which proves to be a successful venture. Then we check out the market at Convent Garden, have lunch at the Sherlock Holmes pub, wander aimlessly in the rain in Piccadily Circus, go to Evensong at St Paul's, and walk around the Tower of London after dark. It's been a short but enjoyable stay in London - the city still has plenty of character and has definitely exceeded our expectations.