Saturday 10 June 2006

World Cup officially gets serious. We heard some chants from the street below already this morning. If I’m going to fit in I guess I’d better brush up on the finer point of socc…. Errrrr….. football.

Amy and I decided to take in the Museum of Natural History today. Going through their Earth Science wing put things into perspective about walking in the crater of Kilauea. The dinosaur exhibit was very good also.

Walked to Harrod’s and just window shopped. The £8.00 bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup made me consider smuggling in pancake toppings. Note to self: Place order for Mrs. Butterworth in next U.S. care package.

Okay… on the stroll home (buses were WAY too crowded) we stumbled across one of the true hidden gems of this city. As we neared Hyde Park Corner, Amy noticed that something was going on near the Wellington Arch. Further investigation revealed that we were just in time for the start of the World Naked Bike Ride. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), I didn’t bring the camera.

Observations:
1. Male-to-female participation ratio was WAY out of proportion.
2. Seems circumcision is more of an American thing.
3. Old men should never be allowed to ride a bicycle naked… EVER!

While the naked ride was a bit of a shocker, it was actually a demonstration to discourage automobile use and encourage cycling. We're awaiting our bicycles - and since we don't plan to have a car while in London, it seemed appropriate to check it out. I suspect that the Big Red Bus tourists were far more startled when they saw several hundred naked riders on the streets of London. At least we saw the starting point and knew what was going on...