Big Ben, kids. Parliament.

Merry ole London. Such a great town. So damn expensive.

After my first real trip to the UK, I have this to say about Europe's largest city: It's really hard to appreciate such a dynamic place while penny-pinching at every turn. Accounting for the exchange rate, we spent around $3.00 on each one-way bus ticket, and double that on the tube. In no time, you're spending $20 for a couple of take out sandwiches and fruit juice. At 30 bucks a pop it's difficult to feel impressed by the Tower of London.

And then there are the shops and department stores. Such beautiful, beautiful department stores. Harrods is definitely worth a browse, especially the Egyptian room and food halls. I also thoroughly enjoyed our Saturday afternoon tea at Liberty. In spite of the high prices, we loaded up on fine chocolates, nice French cheese at the Portobello Road market, and splurged on a few books. No matter the modicum of .com riches I've amassed over my short career life, London has a way of reminding you what real, old money smells like. You can look, but you can't touch.

All in all, I liked London a lot. Here are a few more shots.


Protest signs across the street from parliament.


London bridge.


Oh England and its funny bushes.


We left early enough on Sunday to take the long way home through Belgium. B- had his heart set on visiting a trappist monastery to sample tasty Belgian brews, but we were thwarted by Sunday blue laws. We settled for shops instead.


Approaching the chunnel train.


Our little Ka snug as a bug.


Just outside Lille, France is the small town of Tournai, Belgium. We're thinking of starting a tradition of visiting Europe's least-known sites. The Grande Place (above) sits next to the city's gothic cathedral (not above), a World Heritage site. For B-, the main attraction was a specialty beer shop that stocks over 300 varieties. Alas they were already closed for the day.

Onward, to Brussels, Brussel (in Dutch), Bruxelles (in French).

We spent only about 4 hours in this intriguing city, but so far we like we we've seen. With it's mix of really old and really new, the city is much more classically European than our excursions in the Netherlands have turned up so far. The tight, little streets culminating at the city's Grande Place or Grote Markt (below) were quaint and also impressive.



Brussels is definitely more elegant than Amsterdam, perhaps owing to the lack of drug tourists that inevitably kill the mood along A'dam's canals. Below is a shot of one of the little restaurant streets tucked just behind the Grande Place.



We stopped in for the requisite dish of Belgian mussels before heading home to The Hague. Yummmmmm...

Good Dutch Things: Dierdorado pet hotel. Nigel spent five days on vacation too, and apparently played really hard. The little guy's zonked!