Just across the Thames River stands the London Eye, a giant slow-moving ferris wheel erected for the millenium. The Thames was rather polluted.

There was a Dali exhibit of some kind at the museum next to the Eye. In front of it was a thing where you could pay to jump on trampolines withthe aid of bungee cords.

We got pretty used to using our Tube pass ticket (good practice for the Paris Metro system). Insert the ticket in the front of the turnstile, the gates pop open, and don't forget to grab your ticket as it pops out of the top.

Our room at the Cumberland was discounted because of the ongoing renovations, but we were fortunate to get a renovated room (with Plasma TV!) Our room had a direct view of the Marble Arch on the corner of Hyde Park, and was just down the hall from the suite Jimi Hendrix used to stay in.

We did the Jack the Ripper walking tour and did our own strolling around Hyde Park, the Westminster area, St. Paul's Cathedral (exterior) and Trafalgar Square.

We attended the Evensong service at Westminister Abbey (finding it hard to stay awake) but enjoyed the less formal, more friendly community church in Marylebone on Sunday morning. I chose that church because it was the only one I could get info on from the internet. I don't know why the website and the signs outside the church did not indicate that it was Anglican (we were looking for Roman Catholic) but it was still nice.

Patricia's favorite thing in Paris was lunch at the 5-star restaurant Juiles Verne in the Eiffel Tower, which was quite a bargain considering the way they treated us (the French were all very nice to us; they are not rude as people think) and tax and service charge are included in the price of the meal.

I really enjoyed Notre Dame Cathedral and the gargoyles. I still don't understand why anyone would stick all those crazy creatures on a church, but they're cool. We toured the catacombs where all the bones from many cemetaries were moved to during the expansion of the city. You can walk for at least 30 minutes through tunnels with skulls and femurs neatly stacked 5 feet high on both sides. We took the night boat ride on the Seine River, which was nice with the spotlights they shine on the buildings as you float by. We stumbled upon the location where Princess Diana died, by the replica of the Statue of Liberty's torch. We walked all the way up to the Sacre Coure church and enjoyed the quaint streets behind it, where one envisions the French poets and artists. Didn't make it to Pere leChaise cemetary (site of Jim Morrison's grave), although I had hoped to do some gravestone rubbings. Also we didn't get to see St. Chappelle (world's best stained glass) or the palace of Versailles. Someday we'll go back, maybe.

We finally got togther with Patricia's friend Khadija from Morocco after playing phone tag for a few days. She had some business in Paris so she scheduled it for when were there.