Bleu Monday

Thursday morning and i must make up for my last 3 days.
Monday...
(billy, bryan, erin)
We got up early...well about 9 a.m. got breakfast then headed to see Buckingham Palace (the official home of the queen) for the "changing of the guards" which happens every day. It was really quite a ceremony with the guards in their red tunics and bearskin hats. Like everything in London, this too was very formal and proper. So many people race to the palace fence to get a good view.
We then walked to Westminister Abby and Parliament square. The Medieval architecture of the Abbey and the Parliament building was breathtaking.
The Abbey was built in teh 11th Century and this church was the place of many of Britains monarchs were crowned. Princess Diana's funeral was here. Many famous people have been buried here such as Isaac Newton.
The Parliament buiding is huge. It extends itself along the Thames River and Big Ben is located here. I took some beautiful pictures of Ben at night when it was lit up against the river.
Saint Pauls Cathedral was the next stop. This cathedral was built after the Great Fire of 1666. This cathedral's dome weighs 65,000 tonnes. The interior was full of beutiful mosaics. This was the place of Prince Charles' and Lady Diana's wedding in 81' and Winston Churchill's funeral.
Closer to the evening, we went to the Tate Modern. This museum featured works of Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Rothko, and Andy Warhol. It's so fun to stare at a piece of art and just wonder...what the heck was this person thinking when he/she was doing this. My favorite work was Marilyn Diptych by Warhol. The museum also featured a special summer gallery by the American artist Edward Hopper. I plan on going back to the Tate before i leave.
Afterwards we walked down the South Bank towards the Westminister Bridge and bumped into a little grassy area where live music was about to be played. A cool happy crowd was relaxing on the ground in front of the stage. We decided to pick up some supper from a little nearby cafe and bring it back and eat on the lawn while the band played.
At night we went to a section of London named Covent Garden. Ok, this is my favorite area of London. Everything is so quaint. The street traffic is slow and the people are beautiful. Every store, restauraunt, and Cafe seems to be locally owned. This is a great place to spend a day shopping. Covent garden features a Central Market full of fresh fruits and vegtables, flowers, crafts ect. This area also features many theatres. So we found a place to watch the Sweden v/s Holland game (The Euro 2004). And that's a night.