BBC to Buses

Today, Eric, his wife, Heather, and I toured the BBC in London. We plan to take our students on this tour next year, and we needed to do it ourselves to see if it would be worthwhile. It is. The tour is the perfect combination of fun and information. Not only did we see where the news is researched and written, but we heard stories about pampered celebrities interviewed on site and the hilarious things they demanded. Moriah Cary (surely I've spelled that wrong) requested that a basket of puppies await her in her dressing room because playing with puppies calms her before a performance. The BBC refused to grant this one. Jennifer Lopez demanded that the entire dressing room be redecorated in white, because she simply could not be surrounded by any other color. She even refused to sit on the black stool used by the make-up artist. It had to be draped with a whit cloth first. The BBC granted her request, but billed her for the redecorating. I enjoyed the tour much more than I anticipated.



Eric got to participate in a mock on air quiz show at the BBC.


The kids found a giant mall nearby, so they entertained themselves with some London shopping while were at the BBC. We had a quick lunch at the mall's food court, and then took off for Trafalgar Square. We'd decided to do a bus tour, since it would give us the best overview of big sites in the city. One of the things we want to do with students is to take them to see places that really typify the place they're in--cultural landmarks like Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The Houses of Parliament, Marble Arch, St. Paul's Church, and so on. We won't be able to take them inside all of them,
but a walk by seems like a must. We plan to take them in Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, so we'll view those tomorrow. The bus tour was good, though the open air top level was chilly. It's definitely jacket weather here. Hard to believe it's July.



Buckingham Palace.


Number 10 Downing Street is back there someplace.



We parted company after the bus tour, and the kids and I went to Covent Garden for supper. Covent Garden is a lively neighborhood, perfect for people watching. There are loads of street entertainers, interesting shops, and plenty of pubs and restaurants. We really enjoyed wandering sround after dinner, though Maria was limping by the end of the night. She's a serious fashion plate, and she flatly refused to bring sneakers. She brought some flats--and I mean flat: no arches whatsoever--and I think they've finally gotten to her. I'm guessing that fashion will win out, and she won't buy a sensible pair of shoes to wear on the remainder of the trip. As for me, my feet are fine. I did manage to throw my back out yesterday, though. We were lugging our bags on the subway, and I twisted something. I'm fine, but a little sore.

Tomorrow is our last full day in London. We didn't have any rain today, so I shouldn't complain, but I think we're all hoping for a few hours of sunshine tomorrow.



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