London.

Once we arrived at Heathrow, we took showers and breakfasted at the British Airways lounge, on the assumption that we would just drop off our bags at the hotel and go. A forty minute ride on the Picadilly Line and a little dot following on our phones (God bless technology -- as a person with no natural sense of direction at all, the iphone dot is amazing) and we arrived at the Cavendish. Incredibly, our room was actually ready.

We took about fifteen minutes of quiet time, laying down, until the bells of St. James rang 10:00 am. We began our death march through London from Trafalgar Square:

Yes, that is a giant ship in a bottle:

From there, we walked through the National Portrait Gallery and headed south. We saw the WWII memorial to women and 10 Downing Street. We stopped at Churchill's War Rooms. They are really interesting. They were a bunker that served as the headquarters for the British war council. People lived in the dark underground for four years there. The rooms have been mocked up. There is a museum of Churchill's life as well. I've always had a fondness for the man -- he has some really fantastic quotes -- and I found it a very interesting stop.

We kept walking, walking past Westminster Abbey, toward Big Ben:

At that point, we were near Parliament and starving. Unfortunately, it was a real struggle for us to find a lunch spot. (We had this problem frequently -- we'd be near a tourist location but for our stomachs or bladders could not find restaurants.) We were successful ultimately though. With full bellies, we went back to the Abbey and walked though. I've been before but I still find it one of the more fascinating places in London.

The death march continued, heading up toward Green Park and Buckingham Palace. We had to take a break and catch a cab to Harrod's. In some ways, Harrods reminds me of Macy's on State Street, but about a hundred times fancier. Proof alone is that their food halls are like Whole Foods and their wine bar is a Veuve bar. We took the opportunity to have a super expensive, but delicious, glass of rose. From high brow, we slightly lower to TopShop across the street. A walk through that store confirmed my excitement for it to open on Michigan Avenue this week.

By this point, it was 4:30 in the afternoon and we were EXHAUSTED. But, so so close to making it through the day. We took the tube up to Notting Hill for dinner. One of our neighbors used to live in London and recommended a bar called the Churchill Arms. Just a neighborhood bar with a lot of Churchill memorabilia but attached to a cheap and delicious Thai place. It was really weird but perfect. We spent our last paper pounds on a cab, having to walk the last mile or so back to our hotel.

We were in bed by 6:30 and probably solidly asleep by 7:00. That's what you get for not really sleeping on the plane and trying to beat jet lag.