the second star to the right and straight on till morning!

advice to those who find themselves in exciting locations:

the first night, go to the heart of the city.  in d.c., that means the national mall to see the monuments.  in london, that means a tube ride to westminster (on the circle line, thank you).  nothing will get you feeling you're in london faster.

[big ben.  in front of the london eye.  a bagpiper on the westminster bridge over the thames.  st. margaret's westminster.]

you may be wondering why there are no pictures of westminster abbey.  well, you see, will and kate are being wed there on friday.  there were crowds of people in tents outside hoping to reserve their spot in the royal wedding.  we're chatting and walking and taking pictures, and suddenly we find ourselves in a crowd of people pressed against a fence with police prohibiting us from getting nearer to the abbey!  as it turns out, ... well, i'll let my london-mates tell the story.

when the police finally let us through (or were they guards?  i'm not sure), the six of us stood (in true study-abroad-student fashion--oblivious to the world around them) on the street corner wondering what just happened and where we should go now that we've seen the abbey.  that's when the camera crews approached us.  "what did you see?!  what were you hoping to see?!"  the lady from the bbc asked what we were in london for.  i froze--they told us to be careful how we answer that question when going through customs.  we're to say "student visitor."  bbc lady (conversational tone): "so what are you all doing here in london?"  carolyn (defensive, cautious): "we're....student visitors."