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Ishaan had another day off work, so we started off by navigating the drizzly weather

and heading down to Wagamama for yet another excellent meal.  Disappointingly, they somehow ran out of their delicious-sounding miso ramen, so I went with the tried-and-true chili chicken ramen, this time pairing it with some gyoza and ebi katsu. 

After lunch, we rolled on down to the London Aquarium.  Unlike every museum I had visited during the week, the aquarium actually charged an admission fee -- a fairly stiff ten pounds.  Given the quality of London's free attractions, I figured that this price reflected the quality of the aquarium.  Their publicity materials boasted that the aquarium was home to six species of sharks -- which at first sounded reasonable, but on second thought seemed rather paltry (especially compared to Sea World or the Monterey Bay Aquarium).  Still, I held out hope for good things, and at the very least some species of fish I had never seen before.

Unfortunately, it did not take long for these hopes to fade.  The aquarium looked like it might have been current in the 1980s, but neither its design nor its biodiversity had held up over time.  Instead, we were met with an uninspired assortment of familiar species and drab exhibits.

The layout of the aquarium was designed in such a way that visitors ultimately pass by the same Easter Island-themed shark exhibit six times.  The "six species of sharks" promised by the aquarium description turned out to be the three or four standard species (e.g., sand tiger, bull, and nurse sharks) featured in every aquarium I've ever visited.  I guess being across the Atlantic doesn't have much of an impact on the species chosen for captivity.

I did see a couple things I'd never seen in an aquarium before.  One was a sign from the Marine Stewardship Council, a sustainable seafood organization with which I did some work during my 2003 stint at the WWF.

The second, unfathomably, was a robotic fish.  In what can most generously be described as inexplicable, an entire exhibit was devoted to an unrealistic robotic approximation of a swimming fish.  The mindless thing swam back and forth in its (large) tank, making for an absurd exhibit that perhaps would be appropriate or impressive at an  engineering convention, but certainly serves no purpose at an actual aquarium.

Next up was the tide pool:

After that, there were a few more exhibits...

...and a couple more informational bits on the walls.  Apparently, some parts of the world have a raining fish problem

while other parts have kids who like being poked in the eye by koala-type things.

All in all, walking through the entire aquarium took about fifty minutes -- for a price close to that of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, that doesn't quite cut it.  This, of course, does not stop the London Aquarium from illusions of grandeur; as this item at the gift shop indicates, the place suffers from a case of mistaken identity:

We walked out of the aquarium feeling a bit disappointed, but we were greeted by slightly clearer skies.

We crossed Westminster Bridge, passed by Big Ben,

and headed over to Westminster Abbey, around which milled throngs of tourists, and one tired Indian:

Westminster Abbey provided not only the opportunity for some photo ops,

but also a small glimpse into the political culture of London.  Pay close attention to the signs across the street.

From here, we decided to walk to Harrod's.  Arriving about an hour later, we perused the wine selection -- and I quickly learned that, without flying 5,000+ miles, I could have gotten some of the exact same wines:

Indeed, Harrod's was running a special five-week promotion featuring an array of California wines.  Turns out that Californian vineyards have quite the reputation in the U.K. -- one of Ishaan's coworkers extols Californian wine as the best in the world.  Whether hyperbolic or not, such a proclamation draws no complaints from me.

Ishaan bought a bottle of sherry, and we headed back to chill at Nell Gwynn for a while.  After giving my feet about a half hour of rest, we decided to embark on another hour-plus walk, this time for a return trip to Belgo.  En route, we encountered an aptly named street

and the equally appropriate Detroit Bar and Restaurant.

Our second visit to Belgo was marked by more good food (Green Thai mussels and Loup de Mer Grille -- a chargrilled fillet of seabass served with a fennel salad, hollandaise sauce, and roasted lemon) and more good fruit beer (this time, passionfruit and strawberry).  After dinner, I tried what ultimately turned out to be a an excessively sweet piece of toffee cake at a local bakery, and we headed for the Tube and South Kensington. 

A couple hours later, we hit up Al-Dar again for a late-night meal (this time, I got a superb falafel sandwich).  The day turned out to be the aquarium and a series of repeat visits to restaurants we'd tried throughout the week.  Fortunately, the food proved to be a lot more impressive than the aquarium. 

The London portion of the trip had largely come to a close.  The plan for the weekend: day trips to Brighton and Oxford.

Map of London