Diversion from the Shakespeare Trail. Today, we flew the British Airways London Eye. The Eye is a fairly new sight on London's skyline. It looks like a giant Ferris wheel. I must be perfectly honest; I've never been a fan of the Ferris wheel. They actually scare me. So, I did not approach the Eye with wild excitement. Of course, the London Eye is not at some carnival with old, rickety equipment.

In addition to my Ferris wheel jitters, I had another thing making me nervous before we headed to the London Eye. Sarah, Christopher, and I had to memorize everything that we were going to say before we got in front of the camera. We each researched and wrote a script and only had few days to memorize it. A funny thing happened as I was memorizing the script, I found myself sounding a bit like an airline attendant giving instructions at the beginning of a flight.

We had two rotations on the Eye, which is just an hour to get everything done. We spent the first rotation taping our segments, which went even faster than we anticipated, and the second rotation enjoying the view.

What surprised me most about the London Eye was I could hardly tell that it was moving. This definitely helped me get over my trepidation. The enclosed capsules are more spacious than I'd thought they would be, so there was no claustrophobia to ruin the experience. The view is so overwhelming that all fears were immediately forgotten.

I especially liked seeing the Thames from the Eye. It cuts right through the center of the city and connects London to the ocean. I immediately realized why London became an important port city and how the River is connected to the history of the city.

We watched as London retired for the day, cars zipping by, double-decker buses, the lights of the city, and the boats of the river. We tried locating all of the places we had visited or were going to visit. We spotted the Old Vic, the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, Covent Garden, and many more. This was a great way to get some perspective on the city and a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Simply awe-struck by the view,

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