This is especially for Paolo and other Ziners who are off to London. We had a fabulous and reasonably priced meal at Mehta on Shaftesbury Ave. It is across the street from the Covent Garden Odeon Cinema, where we also saw a good film (Once Upon a Time in the Midlands with the ubiquitous Robert Carlyle).

I had heard many recommendations for Mehta, and now I wish we had gone there on our first night in London because it was very delicious. Mehta is an Indian restaurant, and I have also heard that its sister restaurant, Chowki, is also very good.

My husband Kurt went to the Cabinet War Rooms while I was at a meeting and enjoyed the experience. He asked me to thank all those who suggested this attraction

We saw a few good museum exhibits, including The Fabric of Time at the National Gallery, and this year's winners of the annual competition at The National Portrait Gallery. I'm afraid that Ansel Adams at 100 seemed a little tired to me. The art was not displayed in a way that made viewing these spectacular if familiar photographs an exciting experience.

We very much enjoyed a morning visit to Leighton House and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the PreRaphealites or the Arts and Crafts movement.

Another highlight of our trip was Shakespeare at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park. I had been to the Open Air Theatre many years ago and it was as magical an experience as I had remembered. The theatre is only open in the summer, but if you can, we suggest taking in a play there. The prices are much less than at the West End theatres, and the atmosphere alone is worth the time and money.

We won't recommend the Shanghai restaurant where we ate the special tasting menu. To our Western tastes, it was hideous, but gave us something expensive to laugh about. We ate ears, snouts, intestines, and other pig and chicken parts that, as we thought, should have cost pennies instead of 20 pounds per person! Several folks at Chowhound's International Message Board recommend the place, which makes me quite suspect of that forum.

I would also recommend the display of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace.

Ciao, Debbie in Pittsburgh