LONDON! Day 9: On The Street

Here are a few random pictures from our adventure out on the streets of London.

Gotta have the obligatory picture on the double-decker bus! Just before the bus arrived, it started to rain! London Survival Tip #5: Unless you don't mind taking your shower outside, bring an umbrella with you at all times! I had a small one that folded up nicely and fit in my purse. Unfortunately, it was so small that we each got half wet.

While taking a picture of the River Thames from the London Bridge, we noticed these jets in the air! They are bright red and are the English equivalent to the Blue Angels (except they're red, of course).

We were just about to leave the bridge when the jets let out streams of colored smoke! Then the cannons began to fire. It was a 21-cannon salute. To whom? Why, the queen of course! This weekend the country was celebrating her Highness' birthday (which totally messed up some of our plans but I'll get to that later).

On our way to another cathedral, Roz took us to this fascinating site. Apparently, in 1953, a company was digging down to lay the supports and foundations for a new bank when they made an interesting discovery: an ancient temple built to worship the god Mithras. The god Mithras was a favorite of the Roman soldiers and even makes an appearance in the King Arthur legends. The company went through the expense of raising the temple up to street level so that is might cause wonder in all who came across it. Pretty cool, eh? When was the last time you went digging in your backyard and found an ancient Roman temple? So odd to see such an incredibly old place set in the heart of a bustling city.