Skip to main content

The European Chronicles - 6/9/14

Day Fourteen. 

London, England.

We slept passed 7:00am for the first time in two weeks today and it felt tremendous. Who knew sleeping until 8:45am would feel like such a luxury? Regardless, on our final full day in Europe, why not sleep a little bit? We've been focused on attempting to maximize our time ever since we crossed the pond so much that it becomes very easy to overlook allowing ourselves some rest and relaxation before the grind of reality returns. 

After a big breakfast, probably the best we've had on this journey, we ventured again around London with our maps looking to take in parts of the downtown area. First, we made our way over to the Natural History Museum where we took in the cool building, because after all, this trip has turned me into an architecture and art expert. Also, we were able to see dinosaurs! Yes, I meant that exclamation point because what is cooler to see in a museum than dinosaurs? 

We then made our way via the tube to take in other wonderful sites of London including the London Bridge (which is so disappointing), the Millennium Bridge (very cool), the London Tower (very iconic, and I see why), and other parks, areas, buildings, and stretches in downtown London. 

This was followed up with a walk over to Regent Street to take in some more of London's famed shopping area, more of the culture, the people, and of course, we found more gelato. Yup, gelato. Man, I miss the stuff. I'm not sure what I am going to do when I get back to the States. Again, I can't eat ice cream ever again. 

There were plans to see some of the Premier League Soccer stadiums, yes, more sports business and management geekiness stuff, but they are all spread out too far across parts of London. However, I could see Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC, from my hotel view. Maybe when we return we'll take a tour - possibly, when the EPL is in season. 

Here are some photos from today's adventure. Click to enlarge.


















All in all, London is fantastic. 

And well, Italy was outstanding. 

This two week journey in Europe has been amazing and memorable. We head back to the States tomorrow where I plan to wrap up this series for good. 

For now, I am off to enjoy our last night here in London as we hit the local pubs for some brews and dinner. 

Recent Favorites

Quick Ponder: Free and Guarded

Stay free. But keep the gate to  your peace, guarded.

WWE Wrestlemania XL Review: "I absolutely loved this Wrestlemania"

It's easy to get caught up and become a prisoner of the moment. Especially in today's world where the latest moment is ostracized, super-analyzed, and hyperbolized - it's very much the clickbait, social media, microwave society we live in.  Yet, even after acknowledging that (as well as my Tribal Chief, of course), I still come to this feeling that Wrestlemania XL is one of the best Wrestlemania's, ever.  Yes, ever!  I don't need Triple H's metrics and benchmarks to influence me. No, no, no! In terms of hype, storylines, payoffs, match quality, and just overall fun - this entire weekend was amazing.  I'm slightly skewed in my preference as well. This was my son's first Wrestlemania as a pro wrestling fan. Having him at my side cheering on his favorites, getting caught up in the drama, and even crying at the end of the night because his Tribal Chief lost to "that no good Cody" added to the overall appreciation of the event.  So yeah, I have some

NXT Stand and Deliver 2024 Review: 'For super casual NXT fans like me - no complaints here'

It's become officially a tradition that NXT Stand and Deliver makes Wrestlemania weekend feel like the ultimate wrestling weekend - as if it isn't already. There is just something about a major show being held midday on a Saturday, among the hype for the already dual night of Wrestlemania - that just emanates and screams - wrestling fans, don't go anywhere all weekend.   Nonetheless, NXT Stand and Deliver 2024 for this super causal NXT viewer was entertaining. I was well aware (and followed) the story of Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes (more on that in a bit) more so than the other happenings, but that didn't matter. The show offered many reasons to check out Shawn Michaels' project on Tuesday nights.  With that said, here are some quick thoughts on NXT Stand and Deliver 2024:  - Baron Corbin is amazing on the NXT brand. For many reasons, he just never clicked for me on the major brands - and that very likely might not even be his fault. I didn't think Axiom an