a summary of my London hijinx:

--Friday: after the Ramah run-in, headed off towards the Tower of London, where the Butler program (for those not aware, I'm studying via Butler University in Indiana, which coordinates a ton of study abroad programs in the UK -- they sponsored this whole weekend) has us staying nearby. The hotel is very nice, and ludicrously overpriced -- breakfast would have cost £13 if it hadn't been prepaid, and drinks in the hotel bar are insane -- £5.80 for a vodka and mixer. I skipped that. They set up a buffet at a pretty fancy restaurant nearby, the Ivory Grill (I think that's the name -- very tasty.)
--Saturday: Had breakfast, then headed off to the Tate Modern, a damn good (and free) modern art museum in a former power station -- architecturally stunning. Some of the stuff there I think is brilliant (especially Salvador Dali and other surrealist works); other, more abstract items leave me with a decidedly less positive impression of modern art. (No, I don't think a canvas with two colors on it says anything profound.)

That night: boat cruise, with dinner, karaoke, and dancing. It was a costume thing, with a nautical theme -- I just put on swim trunks, a T-shirt and a towel; others put more effort into their costumes (see photos). A fun time was had by all. Then ended up hanging out with some interesting students from the University of Leeds.
--Sunday: not much. Headed to Euston, near King's Cross, where butler provided a very good brunch. Then back to Nottingham.