Monopoly

Today we spent the morning at the Imperial War Museum. It turned out to be the best WWII experience we've had while here, and I gained a lot of insight into the life of an evacuated child. Some things were funny - (one child wrote home to his mom that apples grow on trees!) but most exhibits and letters just made you want to weep from the saddness of it all.

Inside the museum was a two story replica of a house in London during the war. We got to walk through each room and see actual furniture, decorations, black-out curtains, and toys. I bought a book that shows many of the exhibits, so you'll get to see what we saw once I get home.

The rest of the day was pure sight-seeing!

When I was a little girl, my Uncle Bill served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. All I knew was that he had a cushy job on a big boat somewhere near England, because my Uncle Ozzie complained about it all the time since he had to live in the jungles of Viet Nam. When Bill returned home, he brought me a Monopoly Game, and I spent many years purchasing property and building hotels at Piccadilly Circus, Charring Cross, St. James Park, Trafalgar Square, and Victoria Street Station. I didn't even know that Monopoly came in an American version until after I married Tim. What fun we had today just riding the underground and busses all over the place and walking around my old Monopoly Board.

Here are some surprising facts about London:

There is no circus at Piccadilly Circus. Circus is just their funny way of saying traffic circle.

You can spend hours walking through London before you hear someone speak English.

All the buildings are covered in soot. When you blow your nose over here, soot comes out of your nose.

There are no trash cans along the streets or in the subway stations. When people are finished with something, they just bend over and put it on the ground, then keep walking. Trash is everywhere in little piles, and middle-sized piles, and big piles. I told Tim I want to call the Queen and ask her why her country is full of so much trash. I had to chew my gum for an extra hour or so because I couldn't find a trash can to throw it in! I refuse to throw my trash on the ground. When I look around I keep getting an image of an Indian with a big tear running down his cheek.

You don't see very many children here. Personally I think they've all been killed by double decker busses, but I can't prove it.

Everything is shockingly expensive. A small teapot costs $66. A small, tin Christmas ornament costs $13. A tee-shirt is $40. We spent a lot of time today picking things up, turning them over to look at the price, gasping, then putting them back down again as if they were hot potatoes.

Jaywalkers scream pretty loudly.

You can buy a pencil sharpener in the shape of almost any building in London. Tourists must love pencil sharpeners.

There are no window screens anywhere. Even Buckingham Palace does not have window screens.

There are no dandelions. Wild, teeny-tiny daisies grow in the lawns instead.

Hotel rooms are really small. I'd write more interesting facts about London, but Tim is ready for bed (he keeps sighing rather loudly) and we can't use the bed and type on the computer at the same time - there's not enough room.

Well, tomorrow we pack our bags, Tim will carry them down four flights of stairs, then we'll drag them to Elephant and Castle to catch a bus to Waterloo Station. Off to Exeter and clean air and a slower pace. It will be a nice change.