THIS TIME, WE'RE IN LONDON AGAIN.

THIS CITY JUST KEEPS ON GETTING BETTER.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

LONDON'S QUINTESSENTIALLY ENGLISH, YET COSMOPOLITAN.

IT'S A CITY WHERE THE NEW AND MODERN

SEEMS TO MINGLE ENTHUSIASTICALLY WITH THE OLD AND TRADITIONAL.

I KEEP COMING BACK AND ALWAYS FIND A FRESH TRAVEL EXPERIENCE.

WE'LL CHECK OUT THE NEW, LIKE THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE

AND THE BRITISH MUSEUM'S GREAT COURT,

AND ADMIRE THE OLD, LIKE A LEONARDO

AND FRAGMENTS OF THE PARTHENON.

WE'LL RESPECT TRADITION...

THE ROYAL FAMILY, THEY LIVED ON THE TOP FLOOR.

...AND DO SOME SHOPPING.

AND AFTER A BITE OF TASTY ENGLISH CHEESE,

WE'LL HIKE THE NEWLY REVIVED SOUTH BANK OF THE THAMES.

LONDON, STRADDLING THE RIVER THAMES, IS VAST,

BUT EVERYTHING WE'LL SEE IS WITHIN A FEW MINUTES

BY TAXI, BUS OR TUBE.

WE'LL CHECK OUT HYDE PARK,

THE BRITISH MUSEUM,

THE NATIONAL GALLERY

AND, OF COURSE, THE TOWER OF LONDON.

WE'LL WALK FROM ST. PAUL'S ACROSS THE MILLENNIUM BRIDGE

TO VISIT THE TATE MODERN GALLERY

AND THE ATTRACTIONS OF LONDON'S SOUTH BANK.

LONDON WAS CUTTING EDGE IN THE '60s AND IT'S BACK,

IN VOGUE AGAIN FOR FASHION, ARCHITECTURE,

THE ARTS AND FOOD.

SMOKY PUBS ARE GIVING WAY TO TRENDY OUTDOOR CAFES.

LONDON'S CITY HALL SEEMS TO ENDORSE THE WAVE

OF CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE WHICH STUDS THE BUSY SKYLINE

AND SEEMS TO CLAMOR FOR ATTENTION.

STROLLING THROUGH LONDON'S PARKS IS A REMINDER

THAT SO MANY PEOPLE CALL LONDON,

NOT A WORLD-CLASS SIGHT-SEEING DESTINATION,

BUT SIMPLY HOME.

THE PARKS, LIKE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN THE CITY,

SIT ON A FOUNDATION OF HISTORY.

THESE INVITING GREEN SPACES,

ONCE THE HUNTING GROUNDS OF KINGS,

ARE NOW THE SUNBATHING GROUNDS OF COMMONERS.

AND THESE LONDONERS MAY NOT REALIZE THAT THEY VERY WELL

COULD BE SPEAKING FRENCH IF IT WASN'T FOR THE HEROICS

OF THE MAN WHO LIVED RIGHT HERE.

APSLEY HOUSE WAS THE MANSION OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON,

WHO BEAT NAPOLEON AT WATERLOO IN 1815.

THE DUKE'S GUESTS WERE GREETED BY THE MAN HE DEFEATED,

A LARGER-THAN-LIFE, NEARLY NAKED NAPOLEON.

THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON WAS ONCE THE MOST FAMOUS MAN IN EUROPE.

HIS LAVISH LIVING QUARTERS ARE EMBELLISHED

BY GIFTS SHOWERED ON HIM BY A GRATEFUL EUROPE,

INCLUDING 200 PAINTINGS,

STILL DISPLAYED MUCH AS THE ART-LOVING DUKE HUNG THEM.

WELLINGTON'S VICTORY OVER NAPOLEON AND THE FRENCH

SET THE STAGE FOR BRITAIN'S GLORIOUS VICTORIAN AGE,

WHEN IT WAS THE WORLD'S ONLY SUPERPOWER

AND THE SUN NEVER SET UPON ITS EMPIRE.

THIS WAS THE REIGN OF QUEEN VICTORIA,

WHO RULED FROM 1837 TO 1901.

THE VICTORIAN AGE WAS AN EXUBERANT TIME.

THE NEO-GOTHIC ALBERT MEMORIAL REMINDS LONDON

HOW VICTORIA'S BELOVED HUSBAND ALBERT --

THE ONLY ONE WHO CALLED HER VICKIE --

DID SO MUCH TO PROMOTE TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE

DURING THAT INDUSTRIAL BOOM TIME.

THE STATUES AT THE BASE HERALD THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

OF BRITAIN'S 19th-CENTURY GLORY DAYS.

ALBERT DIED IN 1861.

HIS WIFE, QUEEN VICTORIA,

WAS POSSIBLY THE WORLD'S MOST DETERMINED MOURNER.

SHE WORE BLACK FOR THE STANDARD TWO YEARS,

AND THEN TACKED ON 38 MORE FOR GOOD MEASURE.

TAKING MOURNING TO NEW HEIGHTS,

SHE REQUIRED THAT THE CITY'S ONCE-COLORFUL FINIALS

BE PAINTED BLACK, AS THEY REMAIN TODAY.

THE QUEEN BUILT GRAND MONUMENTS TO HER ALBERT,

LIKE THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL.

THE IMMENSE VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM

IS NAMED FOR THE ROYAL COUPLE WHO DID SO MUCH

TO SUPPORT THE MANY TRIUMPHS OF THEIR DAY.

LIKE LOTS OF LONDON'S TOP ATTRACTIONS, IT'S FREE.

THE V&A GREW OUT OF THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851.

THIS FIRST WORLD'S FAIR,

HOUSED IN A TEMPORARY GLASS AND STEEL PEOPLE'S PALACE,

CELEBRATED THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

AND THE GREATNESS OF BRITAIN.

THE THEME OF THE BRITAIN GALLERIES

IS STYLE, TASTE AND DESIGN FROM 1500 THROUGH 1900.

FOUR HUNDRED YEARS OF ENGLISH FASHION HISTORY

ARE CORSETED INTO A SERIES OF EXQUISITE DISPLAY CASES.

THIS PAINTING FROM AROUND 1600 IS OF A WOMAN

WEARING THIS ACTUAL GARMENT.

IT WAS TYPICAL FORMAL DAYWEAR,

LINEN AND SILK EMBROIDERED WITH SILVER THREAD.

NIGHTCAPS WERE FASHIONABLE AMONG ARISTOCRATIC MEN.

THIS TORTOISESHELL AND SILVER TOILETRIES KIT

SHOWS THAT IN 1640, CAREFUL GROOMING WAS AS IMPORTANT

AS DRESSING MAGNIFICENTLY.

IN THE 1670s, SHOES WERE CALLED "STRAIGHTS,"

AND THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT.

WHALEBONE AND LACING KEPT TORSOS FLAT AND LONG.

FANS WERE TOOLS FOR FLIRTING.

IT WAS SAID, WHILE A MAN'S WEAPON WAS A SWORD,

A WOMAN'S WEAPON WAS A FAN, AND THE FAN DID MORE DAMAGE.

IN THE 1740s, A RICH WOMAN'S COURT DRESS

WAS AN EXTRAVAGANT DISPLAY OF WEALTH,

EVEN IF IT MEANT SHE ENTERED ROOMS SIDEWAYS.

THE HUGE COLLECTION ILLUSTRATES

THE FAR REACH OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE,

FROM ITS EXQUISITE INDIAN ART

TO ITS SUMPTUOUS HALL OF CHINESE ARTIFACTS.

THE HALL OF CASTS IS FILLED WITH PLASTER COPIES

OF EUROPE'S GREATEST STATUARY, MADE FOR THE BENEFIT

OF LONDON'S 19TH-CENTURY ART STUDENTS

WHO COULDN'T AFFORD A RAIL PASS.

STUDENTS COULD COMPARE THE RENAISSANCE GENIUS

OF DONATELLO, WHOSE DAVID WAS EUROPE'S FIRST MALE NUDE

SINCE ROMAN TIMES, AND THAT OF MICHELANGELO A CENTURY LATER,

WITH HIS MORE HEROIC DAVID.

AROUND THE BACK YOU'LL FIND THAT THIS DAVID

CAME WITH AN ACCESSORY, A CLIP-ON FIG LEAF.

AS THIS WAS THE VICTORIAN AGE,

WHEN ROYAL LADIES CAME TO VISIT,

THEY'D HANG IT ON THE STATUE FOR MODESTY.

IF THE DELIGHTS OF THE V&A WHET YOUR SHOPPING APPETITE,

LONDON'S VICTORIAN GALLERIES

EVOKE SHOPPING IN THE 19th CENTURY.

AND ALL OVER LONDON YOU'LL FIND INVITING LITTLE SHOPS

FOR WHATEVER TREASURE YOU FANCY.

HARRODS IS LONDON'S VAST AND VENERABLE DEPARTMENT STORE.

IT'S HUGE -- 300 DEPARTMENTS,

A MILLION SQUARE FEET ON SEVEN FLOORS --

YET CLASSY.

THE FOOD HALLS, WITH THEIR EDWARDIAN-TILED WALLS,

DELICIOUS DISPLAYS,

TEMPTING EATERIES

AND STAFF IN PERIOD COSTUMES, ARE LOTS OF FUN.

A SMALL SHRINE INVITES VISITORS TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS

TO PRINCESS DIANA AND DODI AL-FAYED,

WHOSE FATHER OWNS HARRODS.

THE EGYPTIAN ESCALATOR IS A REMINDER

THAT MR. AL-FAYED IS FROM EGYPT,

AND HE'S SPENT A FORTUNE

REVITALIZING THIS HISTORIC DEPARTMENT STORE.

RIDING IT, YOU ASCEND INTO HARRODS' SHOPPING WONDERLAND.

YOU'LL FIND EVERYTHING

FROM SPRAWLING HALLS OF DESIGNER WOMEN'S WEAR

TO TRADITIONAL MEN'S WEAR

TO A $12,000 MINI-JAGUAR FOR THE KID WHO HAS EVERYTHING.

HUGE EUROPEAN CITIES LIKE LONDON ARE MADE MANAGEABLE

BY EXCELLENT SUBWAY SYSTEMS.

LONDON'S MIGHTY TUBE TAKES US ANYWHERE IN THE CENTER

FOR LESS THAN THE COST OF A CUCUMBER SANDWICH AT HARRODS.

WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

AT THE PEAK OF ITS EMPIRE,

WHEN THE UNION JACK FLEW OVER A QUARTER OF THE PLANET,

ENGLAND COLLECTED ART AND ARTIFACTS AS FAST

AS IT COLLECTED COLONIES.

THIS PLACE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM, IS THE SHOWCASE

FOR THOSE EXTRAORDINARY TREASURES.

ITS CENTERPIECE IS THE GREAT COURT,

AN IMPRESSIVE EXAMPLE OF EUROPE'S KNACK

FOR PRESERVING OLD ARCHITECTURAL SPACES

BY MAKING THEM FRESH, FUNCTIONAL AND INVITING.

THE STATELY READING ROOM,

A TEMPLE OF KNOWLEDGE AND HIGH THINKING, WAS THE STUDY HALL

FOR OSCAR WILDE, RUDYARD KIPLING AND T.S. ELIOT.

KARL MARX RESEARCHED RIGHT HERE WHILE WRITING "DAS KAPITAL."

THE BRITISH MUSEUM IS THE CHRONICLE

OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

YOU CAN STUDY THREE GREAT CIVILIZATIONS --

EGYPT, ASSYRIA AND GREECE -- IN ONE FASCINATING MORNING.

THE EGYPTIAN COLLECTION IS THE GREATEST OUTSIDE OF EGYPT.

IT'S KICKED OFF WITH THE ROSETTA STONE,

WHICH PROVIDED THE BREAKTHROUGH

IN DECIPHERING ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHS.

DISCOVERED IN 1799, IT TOLD THE SAME STORY IN THREE LANGUAGES:

GREEK...

A MODERN FORM OF EGYPTIAN...

AND ANCIENT EGYPTIAN.

THIS ENABLED ARCHEOLOGISTS

TO COMPARE THE TWO LANGUAGES THEY UNDERSTOOD

WITH THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN, WHICH WAS YET TO BE DECIPHERED.

THANKS TO THIS STONE, THEY BROKE THE CODE,

OPENING THE DOOR TO UNDERSTANDING

A GREAT CIVILIZATION.

THE EGYPT WE THINK OF -- YOU KNOW, PYRAMIDS, MUMMIES,

PHARAOHS AND GUYS WHO WALK FUNNY --

LASTED FROM ABOUT 3,000 TO 1,000 B.C.

IT WAS A TIME OF UNPRECEDENTED STABILITY, VERY LITTLE CHANGE

IN GOVERNMENT, RELIGION OR ARTS.

IMAGINE, 2,000 YEARS OF EISENHOWER.

EGYPTIAN ART WAS ART WITH A PURPOSE.

IT PLACATED THE GODS.

THE ENTIRE PANTHEON, A COSMIC ZOO OF DEITIES,

WAS SCULPTED AND WORSHIPPED,

AND IT SERVED AS PROPAGANDA FOR THE PHARAOHS.

THEY RULED WITH UNQUESTIONED AUTHORITY

AND WERE CONSIDERED GODS ON EARTH.

AND MUCH OF THE ART WAS FOR DEAD PEOPLE,

FOR A SMOOTHER DEPARTURE AND A HAPPIER AFTERLIFE.

IN ANCIENT EGYPT, YOU COULD TAKE IT WITH YOU.

CORPSES WERE PAINSTAKINGLY MUMMIFIED.

THE INTERNAL ORGANS WERE REMOVED AND PUT IN JARS.

THEN THE BODY WAS PRESERVED WITH PITCH, DRIED

AND WRAPPED FROM HEAD TO TOE.

THE WOODEN COFFIN WAS PAINTED WITH MAGIC SPELLS AND IMAGES

THOUGHT TO BE USEFUL IN THE NEXT LIFE.

THE FINELY DECORATED COFFINS

WERE PUT INTO A STONE SARCOPHAGUS LIKE THIS.

THESE WERE THEN PLACED IN A TOMB,

ALONG WITH THE ALLOTTED BAGGAGE FOR THAT ULTIMATE TRIP.

THE GREAT PYRAMIDS WERE JUST GIANT TOMBS

FOR EGYPT'S MOST POWERFUL, CAREFULLY DESIGNED

TO PROTECT THEIR PRECIOUS VALUABLES

FOR THAT VOYAGE INTO THE NEXT LIFE.

IN ITS WANING YEARS, EGYPT WAS CONQUERED BY ASSYRIA,

PRESENT-DAY IRAQ.

THESE WINGED LIONS GUARDED AN ASSYRIAN PALACE

NEARLY 900 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST.

ASSYRIA CONSIDERED ITSELF

THE LION OF EARLY MIDDLE EASTERN CIVILIZATIONS.

IT WAS A NATION OF HARDY AND DISCIPLINED WARRIORS.

ASSYRIAN KINGS SHOWED OFF THEIR POWER IN BATTLE

AND BY HUNTING LIONS.

THIS DYING LIONESS, ROARING IN PAIN, WAS CARVED

AS ASSYRIA WAS FALLING TO THE NEXT MIGHTY POWER, BABYLON.

HISTORY IS A SUCCESSION OF SEEMINGLY

INVINCIBLE SUPERPOWERS, WHICH ALL EVENTUALLY FALL.

GREECE, DURING ITS GOLDEN AGE, ROUGHLY 400 B.C., SET THE TONE

OF SO MUCH OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION TO FOLLOW.

THE CITY OF ATHENS WAS THE SITE OF A CULTURAL EXPLOSION,

WHICH WITHIN A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS

ESSENTIALLY INVENTED OUR NOTION OF DEMOCRACY, THEATER,

LITERATURE, MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY

AND SO MUCH MORE.

AN EVOCATIVE REMNANT OF GREECE'S GLORY DAYS

IS THE SCULPTURE WHICH ONCE DECORATED THE PARTHENON,

A TEMPLE ON THE ACROPOLIS HILL IN ATHENS.

HERE, A LONG PROCESSION OF CITIZENS

HONORS THE GODDESS ATHENA.

THE CARVINGS OF THE TEMPLE'S PEDIMENT,

EVEN IN THEIR RUINED STATE, ARE A MASTERPIECE,

SHOWING GODS AND GODDESSES

CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF ATHENA.

THE GREEKS PRIDED THEMSELVES ON CREATING ORDER OUT OF CHAOS,

HERE SYMBOLIZED BY THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN HALF-ANIMAL CENTAURS

AND CIVILIZED HUMANS.

FIRST, THE CENTAURS GET THE UPPER HAND.

THEN, THE HUMANS RALLY AND DRIVE THEM OFF.

IN GOLDEN-AGE GREECE,

CIVILIZATION FINALLY TRIUMPHED OVER BARBARISM.

AND WHERE DID THIS HEROIC TRIUMPH EVENTUALLY LEAD?

COVENT GARDEN.

THIS BOUTIQUISH SHOPPING DISTRICT

IS A NEVER-ENDING CARNIVAL OF PEOPLE ENJOYING LIFE.