What the Queen Says, Goes

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because by the time I got home I was POOPED! But, it will be worth the wait for you as we took a lot of pictures.

Our day started bright and early. The husband and I and our roommate (a coworker of the husband's from Houston) went to the train station and were on the 9am train to London.

The conversation on the train was amusing to say the least. The husband has spent some serious brain power contemplating what his alias will be for this blog. He has decided it must be witty and descriptive. He's a huge James Bond fan so the names started there. Some were silly and some were...well they were all silly. So we decided to take it to the readers to vote on his name. Here are the top choices:

• The Nose (please don't pick this one...no pun intended)
• Dr. Know (from James Bond)
• Dr. Nose (a combination of the two above)
• White and Nerdy (duh)
• The Candy Man (also, duh)

So cast your votes please, I'll tally them up and reveal his new alias.

We arrived safely in London and I thought this stand at the train station was rather amusing, but I still don't know what they sell:

On our way to Trafalgar Square we came across this lovely gourmet market (which we came back for lunch later in the day). I saw these French Macaroons which Janine  forced me to eat a few weeks ago in New Orleans. I nearly died it was so good, and these did not disappoint. They aren't cookies but meringue "cookies" (for lack of a better word) filled with a variety of fillings. I started with the pistachio one filled with chocolate gnache. On the way home, we stopped by again and I picked up the commemorative wedding macaroon which was a green apple meringue filled with a cinnamon butter cream (it's the green one with the British flag). I have since looked up how to make them (Martha Stewart is my hero) as they are more than $2 a piece, but well worth the price. 

We made it to Trafalgar Square, got aboard the Original Tour bus, and took a 2 hour tour of the city. 

It was a bit hard to take good pictures from the moving bus, but take a look at some of the highlights of the trip:

Buckingham Gate, as the sign indicates

The funny thing is, the Queen has decided she doesn't want commercial vehicles  driving in front of her house and whatever the Queen says, goes. So in the distance, you can see the changing of the guards (something I hope to go back to before I leave).

We did not go see Legally Blonde but we could if we wanted!

It's not falling down but is absolutely beautiful! This picture doesn't do London Bridge justice.

This is the shot of us going over London Bridge.

I thought this was rather neat. In front of the National Gallery, is a living recreation of the original Van Gogh painting.

Silly tourists. Oh Wait...

I don't know why the orientation is off  but I can't not post a picture of Big Ben. As you can see, we were there right when it went off at noon. 

On the other side of this fence is Buckingham Palace. The Queen doesn't want anyone coming in and what the Queen says, goes.  

So we got off the bus and went to lunch. The guys each got burgers and brownies and I got some Moroccan falafel (don't tell him). Instead of getting on another tour bus, boat or walk, we decided to just go where our own feet took us. First we hit the Texas Embassy. Yes, that's right, Texas was in fact it's own country once and had an Embassy in London. There is also a restaurant call the Texas Embassy at which we had a 5:30 dinner reservation (more on that to come). Unfortunately, the original Texas Embassy is no longer as it is now a wine store but there was a nice plaque:

We walked around for a few more hours. We hoped to go to the Portobello Market but the Underground was down and then it just got complicated. That's still on my top list for when I go back but until then, please enjoy the rest of our day:

Just in case you were wondering, there are 431 days, 5 hours 34 minuted and 19 seconds until the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.

The husband riding a lion in Trafalgar Square. 

See, the Brits do have a sense of humor.

Ah, the Ford Mustang. Complete with the driver on the left. Somethings never change.

Of course we had to walk into the (expensive) hat store down Oxford Street.

Did you think we would NOT take this picture? Oh silly Americans.

After our great adventure of almost getting lost and watching street performers, we were HUNGRY. Now, before I get into it, there's something you should understand. British food is bland. Everyone says it because it's true. Some say it's gotten better which makes me worried for those who have traveled there in the past. This baffles me. After all, the British have conquered the world and the world has so much good food and flavors to offer so why has nothing picked up? There are COUNTLESS Indian food places everywhere in England (by far more than Starbucks in the States) and often times they are right next to each other. If you make it to a good one, and order it spicy, you might be lucky to be served something as hot as what is considered medium in America. I also made enchiladas the other day with store bought ingredients. All I had to choose from was the Old El Paso. It still tasted "off."

Howdy!

Texas Aggies at the Texas Embassy. Gig Em!

London and Texas converge.

Now THAT'S what I'm taking about!

Looks like fajitas. Smells like fajitas. Was the closest thing to fajitas I've have in a while.

The Husband ordered southern fried chicken before and got chicken strips. This was also a much closer attempt.

Then we played pool, sort of. Notice the size of the table and color of the balls. Not to mention, it was also lopsided.

There was plenty of Aggie paraphernalia, but this is the best. WHOOP!

So the Queen went to Texas once....

...and said "Lesser mortals are pitted for their misfortune in not being born Texans"

And what the Queen says, goes.