221b Baker Street, Dickens, and more...

This past weekend, I paid a visit to a dear old friend's residence at 221b Baker Street. Mr. Holmes was home for part of the time and we had a nice chat. It was then on to the former residence of one Charles Dickens. While there, I observed a desk he used as a law clerk, an arm statue which appears in "A Tale of Two Cities" and various original versions of his writings.

I also went on a tour titled Roman London which went to various parts of the city which were a part of Roman history. The city was formerly called Londinium with the Roman's arrival in 43 AD. A couple walls still stand from Roman times. London Stone, an anomoly of London written about by Shakespere and others, was included on the tour and is said to have been around since ancient times. Whenever they do construction in the London area, archeaologists are called in because of the great amount of history occuring here. Many Roman artifacts are housed at the museum of London.

Sunday, I went on a ride in the sky on the London Eye. (an enormous ferris wheel) It overlooks the Thames river, Big Ben, Parliment, Westminster Abbey, and many other famous sites. The weather was fairly decent and when we reached the top you could see for around 25 miles in all directions. Took a nap in a park by Parliment and then went on a Jack the Ripper tour led by Donald Rumblelow the leading Ripperologist in the world. Quite interesting and informative. London's East End, where the incidents occured, during the late 1800s was a very poor area of the city. Many times as many as 9 people would share one room of a shabby house. A bed could be had for the night for 3 pence and if you didn't have that much 2 pence would buy you the right to sleep while leaning against a rope strung across the room.

I also went on a run in Hyde Park which is about a mile from my flat. Highly recommended running if you're ever in London. Huge park around the size of Central Park in New York city.

Pictures of the above: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/aallen30605/album?.dir=/c183re2