St. George's Day

Today is St. George's Day... a day likened to St. Patrick's Day, but not a bank holiday here in England. It is also known to me as my 5th day in London!

As I'm currently paying £1 a half hour to use this internet (that's 2 American Dollars!), I'm attempting to make this quick...

A few highlights include: The huge English Breakfast included free every morning, complete with croissants (not as good as the Hungarian Pastry Shop!), hash browns, eggs, tomatoes, baked beans (!), fruit, yogurt, cheese, and more; The Rothko Room at the Tate Modern; sitting in Trafalgar Square; Friday morning's easy 2 mile run through St. James Park; Reading My Heart is My Own, by John Guy, the new book on the life of Mary Queen of Scots I picked up at the Westminster Abbey Bookstore; the 30 minute sports massage I received this morning; and the beautiful flowers I found in my room Friday night from Jenn & Jess (thanks guys- that was the best most wonderful surprise!!!!!!).

Other events include: the marathon expo, exploring Westminster Abbey, window shopping in Covent Garden & Portobello Road, touring the National Gallery & the Tate Modern, riding the London Eye and the Number 15 bus through Oxford & Piccadilly Circuses, marvelling in the architecture of Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, and yes... the marathon. My marathon was a success in that I finished, and I finished without injury. However, the race itself was not all the training was cracked up to be. Hot temperatures (record highs for the race) and a super crowded field made this race difficult. My watch time was 5:33:13. Official results can be found here.

I have one more day left in which we plan to hit a few more tourist spots (Julie has us on a tight schedule!). I'm sure I will be posting a few more thoughts as I return to America on Thursday and have time to digest this wonderful experience. So far though, I can easily say that I find London to be a charming, hospitable town that I could easily live in and enjoy!