Desi mom decided to have an engagement party for Desi and I, something that we were both very excited for. This would be for Desi’s friends, relatives, and friends of the family to show their support for us in celebration. It was such a wonderful evening and I really enjoyed all the amazing wishes from everyone. I’m sure it makes a huge difference to have the encouragement of others for things like this – thanks to everyone! The gifts were beyond anything I would have expected and Desi and I both appreciate it very much.

Here’s a photo of the amazing table spread:

The party happened to fall on October 31st, one of my favourite days of the year. In Bulgaria, Halloween is not a celebrated holiday so dressing up was new for Desi and her family and friends. The results were great though, and here is a shot of Desi dressed up as Marilyn Monroe:

And here is a shot of everyone that dressed up:

The evening was wonderful, and I got many compliments on my costume, as did Desi. One of the best Holloweens ever for sure! Oh, and of course here the photo of this year’s pumpkin:

More in the gallery below:

Barrie’s annual Zombie Walk took place on October 30th, and I happened to eb downtown with my camera to snap some photos of the people participating. To be honest, I thought this would be a small event, but in reality there was probably 60 or so people dressed in gory, bloody, undead garb. It was quite fun to see the different costumes and I ran into a few photographers that I knew as well. It was a great way to spend a few hours in the evening.

Here are my favourite shots:

This photo was something of a fluke, but I was quite happy with the results:

And some people were very…. enthusiastic?

Needless to say, people really got into it! More pics in the gallery below.

We decided to stay in London for an entire day, sunrise to sunset. We booked another night’s stay and headed out into the city. We didn’t really have much direction for what to do or where to go, but I was told to go and see the London Eye so we made a mental note of that as we headed out.

We had a bit of a walk to the nearest metro station from our hostel, but the walk was very enjoyable. After making a few wrong turns (my fault!) we followed our map down a very nice walkway. In the middle of this walkway was a streem, full of various birds and lilies:

There were some interesting birds that I couldn’t identify, so I made sure to get a good photo of them:

When we got out of the metro we started walking around, looking for anything interesting. I had noticed a sign that said “Imperial War Museum” and an arrow in the direction of the museum, so we headed that way. Now, we assumed that this sign was implying that the museum was close to where we were. We kept walking, following more signs over what was likely a few kilometers. Clearly these signs must have been intended for people on the roads, not the sidewalks.

Anyhow, we finally arrived and to our good fortune all museums in London are free. Here’s a photo of the main lobby area:

I know for certain that I found the museum more interesting than Desi, but she was patient and let me explore all the cool things on display, including this atomic bomb:

There were many interesting items on display, from tanks to Enigma machines. There was also a very sombre art gallery on the upper level that Desi and I walked through. The art reflecting the losses of the World Wars is dark, and very emotional. No photos were allowed in this area, and I respected that.

We also enjoyed a section of the museum with artifacts from individual soldiers and the stories that went along with them. Again, no photography allowed. There are more photos from the museum in the gallery below however.

Our next stop would be the London Eye, and it was a very nice walk getting there. We walked along the river and although the wind was cold, I only remember the scenery:

One thing we noticed about London was the huge amount of people on the streets. The number of pedestrians, especially around the main metro stops, was just insane. Far denser crowds than anywhere else we had been in Europe.

The line-up for the eye was long but moved quickly, and we took some great shots of the city once we were lifted into the sky. My favourite is from my fisheye lens, and this photo should already be familiar to some of you:

We asked one our fellow tourists to take our photo, and the results were very memorable:

We walked closer to the Palace of Westminster and I took a few shots of the clocktower:

The guards here were much nicer than any of the ones we found in Paris, and many tourists were stopping to get their photos taken with them. Desi asked if i wanted a photo, which is in the gallery below.

We went to the train station at this point to find our way back out of the UK. On our way in we took the chunnel, but our way out we walked to take the ferry across (partly to be different, partly for cost). We made our arrangements to head to Dover Priory in the morning where the ferry would depart, and grabbed a bite to eat.

We headed back to our hostel after sunset, concluding a wonderful day. A lot of walking and sightseeing, and definitely a place I would like to go back to if it wasn’t so expensive. Here is a photo of the waterway on our way back at night:

Enjoy the rest of the gallery