10-25. Today a walk / church day including wandering along the Thames past the London Eye viewing the skyline of London, walking across the Tower bridge past the Tower of London finally sauntering along the boulevard back home. The churches included Westminster Cathedral - the grand place grand things happen in London - marriages, coronations, burials, etc. then St Paul's Cathedral - we think it is the  most spectacular and it is a push which is bigger. We also discovered that fast food and Starbucks has taken over London; every block has a Starbucks and at least two fast food places, and Londoners like to play dress-up, we've seen many penguins walking around.
10-24.  A travel day we packed, then the 15 minute trip to the Weymouth station and the train to London. Arriving in Waterloo Station we were advised to take the tube to Green Park Station then were told to go to Victoria Station; of course, now that we are tube wizards it was no sweat - except the luggage schlepping part. We arrived at our new home, The Crown Plaza Hotel, a fancy schmancy place that's costing less than most of our previous stays because London prepped itself for the Olympics and now has a serious excess of lodging. The rest of the day spent wandering through the big sights - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Parliamentary Building, the London Eye, etc. etc. Unfortunately, part of the hotels business plan is to make money on the Internet connection - $10 a day, so we passed, and are waiting for an Internet cafe. 

10-23 a casual day, we hung around plotting and planning and scheming until dog time; This was the time when we gathered up 8 dogs - 2 whippets, a greyhound, 4 mutts, and an English Bulldog;  only one, Basil, belonged to Rick - and took them for a romp down to the beach. Muck, and slush, and goo still abound so people take care, dogs have fun. Shortly after our discussion of the basic nature of the English Bulldog and decided nurture over nature, I was playing with one of the whippets when the Bulldog joined in- perhaps not totally understanding what play is.  Within moments he bit my leg, let go then bit the other, pulling back and tearing my britches. He wasn't mad, just wanted to play, however, he got a serious scolding for it. After returning the dogs we headed for Weymouth, a lovely coastal town, to be tourists, wander the streets, and alleys, and liste n to Rick's stories about the place (He grew up here). Then on to Portland, a modest sized island just off the coast of Weymouth that contains a couple lighthouses, a Napoleonic era jail, and a fair amount of urban sprawl. Finally out to a 5 star restaurant to celebrate our last night here - 5 stars because we 5 star people were in it - and partook of English fare: lamb shank, fish pie, Dorset apple cake, bread and butter pudding. Finally we watched a DVD of Rick's Slovenia trek, whilst scratching Basil covering our clothes with the added warmth of dog hair.

10-22 A foggy day, in Weymouth Town (A song), and it didn't clear, however you may recall "There's no bad weather just bad clothes", so we dressed appropriately and were off to Stonehenge. We wandered through old English country, hill and dale, and hamlet, etc. discovering many charming sights along the way. In one we happened by a thatcher; indeed, he was thatching a roof! The process is much like putting tiles on a roof except you're using small bundles of thatch (looks like long straw). We were told the roof will last 25 - 30 years, and cost around $13 a square foot. Then on to Stonehenge where we, and several busloads of others listened to our personal hand held talk on its history. It was impressive considering its age - 5000 years - and the picnic area proved quite useful. Then on to the Salisbury Cathedral, a really big Catholic Church with one of the four copies of the Magna Carta, which of course as you all remember is considered the first human rights legal document:) then to a really big food store where we bought more stuff to eat; back home, an English chicken dinner and conversation. One good day after another:)