London

And so we start our trip. After months of anticipation, we are finally on the road.

We arrived in London on Sunday and were welcomed by Tanya's cousin Roxy in the quiet, picturesque neighborhood of St. John's Wood (think Pacific Heights in London). Our first day was filled enjoying meals with Londoners, from a fantastic lunch of roasts, fried potatoes and yorkshire pudding ( i.e., pancakes in cupcake form) with Roxy and her friends in Farringdon, to sushi with our friend Tatiana and her boyfriend Sam in Angel (side note: Tatiana and Sam live in a former church remodelled into apartments - check out the picture of the wall outside their door).

This is the first time we both have been to London as adults and we're a bit surprised. Over the past five to ten years London has undergone somewhat of a resurgence (we are told) and it is just lovely. Combining a major financial capital, a dynamic artistic and intellectual community, a thousand years of history, sports upon sports, and many, many cultures (25% of Londoners were not born in the UK! - there is a recent gigantic influx of Eastern Europeans laborers and Russian oligarchs), London is wonderful. Our opinion wasn't hurt by three days of blue skies (said to be unusual). On top of all this, London has recently been given the 2012 Olympics.

Since most of you have probably been to London, this is likely not new to you but if you haven't been, here are some highlights from our brief visit:

The Swiss Re building is a giant skyscraper completed in 2004 known as "the Gherkin" (if you don't know what that means, don't worry. We had no clue either. It means "pickle"). The building is so unique, it looks like the mixture of a giant pickle and a monstrous egg, jutting out of the London skyline from a base the size of a small apartment building. The building was designed by Norman Foster who also made the new Millennium Bridge connecting the Tate Modern to St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Tate Modern: What a museum! On top of being free (thank you England) it hosts an incredible array of modern art and displays it by theme instead of by time period, making viewing very refreshing. There is a great Rothko viewing room with dimmed lights, benches and wall-sized paintings. The museum was completely packed on a Monday afternoon, filled mostly with European tourists and local school children. Interestingly, the building is housed in a refurbished power plant.

Brick Lane: Situated in the Bengali district, Roxy took us to the most incredible restaurant called Tayyabs. Not only was the food delicious, but it was on our table within two minutes of ordering. The atmosphere, the crowd and our order ringed true to a fancy restaurant in Kolkata.

And so, after briefly visiting our cousin and friends, we are off to South Africa.
Let us know how you are - miss you all