"This pub is older than America"

London, as this trip served to remind me, is old.  There is so much history in this city that its a bit overwhelming.  Luckily, there are also a lot of pubs that, generally speaking, reduce anxiety. 

My first day was spent wandering around Putney with the friends I was visiting.  They have an energetic dog that created a wonderful excuse to enjoy the green parks along the Thames.  We spent the next few days downtown seeing the sites; Westminster Alley, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben etc.  Saint Paul's cathedral had cool historic architecture and outstanding London view from the top dome (after a lot of dizzying stairs).  We also checked out Camdentown with its punk rock history and unique and extremely diverse open markets.  And accidentally ran into a house marked 'Sylvia Plath lived here for one year.'

I was very impressed with the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum.  This is not a free museum, but well worth my 10 pounds. The cabinet rooms were used by Chuchill and his closest advisors during WW2 as underground secret bomb-proof meeting places and living quarters.  Most of the arrangements (maps, phones, papers) and furtniture are exactly as they left them.  The Churchill museum is extremely interactive and creative. I learned a lot here.