Panic on the Streets of London...

to quote The Smiths. For a brief little blog entry, we're now officially finished our World Tour 2012-13 and have left the MV Explorer as it heads to Norway and beyond. I guess we missed being on a ship so much that we did a touristy river cruise on the Thames today amidst the throngs of tourists out of an uncharacteristically sunny British afternoon.

I think it's going to take me months to process all that I've experienced on our trip. What I guess I can simply explain that life on the ship was that–life. Good things happened, some days were crappy, some days were great, tragedy struck people we know, and life continued for us and everyone else. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do with friends, coworkers, family, and sometimes I may want to talk and other times I may want to be a bit of a loner. I need to and desperately want to reacquaint myself with two wheels.

Ellen posted a list of places we've been, and I'm going to borrow it here so I can see exactly where we have been. With the only exceptions of Barcelona, Antwerp, and Amsterdam, every place was new to me. Whew.

San Diego, California

Ensenada, Mexico

San Diego, California*

Ensenada, Mexico*

Hilo, Hawaii

Yokohama, Japan

Kobe, Japan

Shanghai, China

Hong Kong, China

Singapore

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Yangon, Burma

Cochin, India

Port Louis, Mauritius

Cape Town, South Africa

Takoradi, Ghana

Accra, Ghana

Casablanca, Morocco

Barcelona, Spain

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Livorno, Italy

Cadiz, Spain

Casablanca, Morocco*

Lisbon, Portugal

Le Havre, France

Antwerp, Belgium

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Edinburgh, Scotland

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

Dover, England

* Yes, we hit these places twice on the voyages.

So far, England has been great in the sense that it's beautiful, exciting, huge, and spectacularly full of culture and beer. It's also nice to be renting a flat on Memorial Day weekend (guess UK celebrates this holiday, too, just like the US because, basically, it was the same war but here it's referred to as a bank holiday) and have small things like a living room, internet that actually works faster than early 1990s dialup, and being able to hop on the Underground and taking the subway anywhere in the city. It's also really cool to be in London near subway stops that are mentioned in Smiths songs and also seeing sights that you've read about and heard about in literature or song, be it the Beatles, Shakespeare, or Britpop. What I think all of us have learned as a family is that can be a bit tough being cooped up around each other for so long, and I'm looking forward to being back home and being able to have solo time as well as time together.

Oh, and I still haven't found Altoids in the UK, so it'll have to wait until I get back home before I can get the small minty mints in the tin. What I do have are the Cantillon lambics and Belgian quads that I bought on the enrichment voyage and am enjoying immensely in our flat. There are also pubs nearby, so European ales are suiting me quite well now, and when I get back home I'll take a short break, whip myself back into shape on the bike, and treat myself to some of the US bourbon-barrel aged beers in my cellar. 

Here's a few shots of our first evening and today's stay in London.

The MV Explorer landed in Dover. We got on a bus to Heathrow, minus a bag. Found said bag that another passenger had mistakenly grabbed. Took the Tube to our Flat.

Yes, I realize the British talk a bit formally and spell words with extra "u"s and whatnot, but I have no idea what this is talking about.

London Bridge is not falling down. It's a rather large, curved, undescript bridge across the Thames...

...and London Bridge is not this bridge. This is Tower Bridge, and it's a few hundred meters away.

Picasso at the Tate Museum.

A little further down the Thames from the Tate is a rendition of the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare's plays were shown. Reminds me I need to go see a show at the Blackfriar's Theater in Staunton.

Meal at the Turkish restaurant on night one in London. Great meal, but Jasper per usual was not in a smiley mood.

More London! More Cowbell! This sculpture on Morelondon Street has a gently cascading waterfall over all edges. I had a picnic and looked at the Tower Bridge and people watched there today.

This double-decker bus just happened to drive by as I was taking pictures of Big Ben and Parliament. I swear. Just a lucky coincidence I got the shot of the hot cheerleaders.

Here's the picture I meant to take of Parliament.

Don't forget to mind the gap.