It is a little known but interesting fact that the London Underground prohibits flash photography anywhere on their system. The British Museum, however, does allow flash photography pretty much anywhere.

John and I made our maiden voyage of the trip to London's National Gallery, and then walked the short distance to the British Museum. The day was very stimulating culturally, and doubled as good exercise.

Highlights of our trip to the National Gallery were Goya's Dona Isabel de Porcel, Gainsborough's The Painter's Daughters with a Cat, Hogarth's Marriage A La Mode and several fine works by Canaletto. The whole National Gallery collection can be admired online, however, this does not detract from the visit. Getting down to the Gallery is easy enough by reaching the Charing Cross tube station. However, travel was not straightforward, because two tube lines were experiencing severe delays and shutdowns due to signal failure and other mechanical problems. John and I plunked down £6 to get an audioguide to the paintings, and we confined ourself to the 1700-1900 galleries.

We then walked along Charing Cross Road, turned at New Oxford Street, and then onto Great Russell Street to reach the highlight of John's day. No, not the British Museum - the Museum Tavern, located almost directly across the street from the fabled institution. Ears pricking, John bounded through the door to order a pint of Charles Wells Bombadier, pausing only to obtain for me a Diet Pepsi.

We passed a happy forty-five minutes eating a pub lunch and resting. We then crossed the road to explore one of the more underrated and frequently ignored sections of the British Museum, the Sainsbury's African Galleries, located in the basement of the East Section. Highlights included brass from Nigeria, from the Benin Empire, and Zulu warrior artifacts.

Tonight, we're going out with Hugh and Felicity for dinner at an Italian place nearby - John is hoping for red wine.