[INSIGHT TRAVEL - EUROPEAN GRANDEUR] - London, Official Start of Tour

DAY 4 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2000
LONDON, THE MILLENIUM GLOUCESTER HOTEL
ROOM 230 (1952H, GMT)

Today I met Sherlock Holmes. Of course not THE Sherlock Holmes, not even his TV incarnation Jeremy Brett -- but a nice man who does a lovely facsimile of the Great Detective.

It all started after Mom and Dad and I set off on a short ramble up Cromwell Road from the Goucester Arcade. We went past the Natural Science Museum and the back of the Victoria and Albert Museum before heading back to the hotel.

From there, I left Mom and Dad to rest and struck off on my own with the camera and the passport. Hopped on a bus tour called The Big Bus and had myself a glorious time. For 15 pounds, one gets a ticket good for any number of stops -- hop on, hop off -- along two routes. There are even special offers and a one-way ticket on a river cruise to boot!

Took my time at the Albert Memorial and various other stops -- most notable of which was the Baker Street Station, where you get down if you'd rather see Madame Tussaud's. I chose the Sherlock Holmes Museum as the lesser of two evils, since the line outside Madame Tussaud's was miles long! Saw the Millenium Eye sponsored by British Airways, and it is HUGE. Would have tried to ride it, but the queues are even worse than those of Madame Tussaud's! (Twice in London, and never once inside Madame T's. Hmm. Maybe the third time will be the charm?)

Loved the views of Tower Bridge, and paused to admire Westminster Abbey. In-between and along the way, I discovered quite a few things:

* Oxford Street is a mile-long affair. No wonder my legs hurt just remembering the walking we did!

* Winston Churchill drew a great deal of spiritual strength from knowing the great cathedral of St. Paul's remained untouched by German bombers during the Blitz

* 1 cup of pigeon food at Trafalgar Square costs 30p and the enjoyment of watching the pigeons eat out of your hand is priceless

* 1 pound gets you into the "luxury washroom" at Harrod's - where you get an automatic wash as you sit down, wave your hand over infrared sensors to flush and get water out of the faucet, AND there's even signature perfumes for you to spray on yourself. Made a mental note as I passed the trenchcoat section to tell Arcina that my first reaction was to mentally think of Aya-kun and Saitoh-sama.

We met the Tour Director today and got a first look at our traveling companions for the next month. Lisa Hines, our TD, seems a very competent lady who knows what she's about. I think we're going to be friends. Not many Pinoys on this trip, for which heave a great sigh of relief and thank God!

I guess that's the recap for now. Wake-up call is at 5:00am. Bags out/breakfast at 6:30am. Assembly in the lobby at 7:10am. Made our farewells and settled accounts with Masako-chan, who smiled at got us all fixed up like the darling that she is. Would have liked to get her picture like we did the two Pinoy waiters at the Conservatory, but of course it wouldn't do with the huge groups coming in. Anyway, I'm sure I'll manage to remember her quite well for a while.