"... Then I tried some when the hulls were yellow and almost felt like the bean should have been pealed." That has been my observation also, for most of the runner beans I've tried as shellies. That, and the "off" flavor of many of them, had me questioning whether runner bean seeds were really suited for use as shellies. Now I suspect that those issues can largely be overcome, whether by choice of variety, level of maturity at harvest, or means of preparation. This is, IMO, mostly uncharted territory, so there is still a lot of research & experimentation yet to be done. The beans are so large & visually appealing, it would be wonderful if their flavor could be made to match their appearance. My hope is that canning will prove to soften the skins of the mature beans. I've never been very fond of canning vegetables, since I prefer the fresh flavor of frozen produce... but in the case of runner bean shellies, canning might improve their palatability. Who knows, the pressure cooking itself might yield favorable results. I'm looking forward to experimenting, provided that I have enough beans next year to do so.

Casey, just to let you know, if you want to Westminster Abbey, get there as early as you can. DH & I were there a couple of years ago, and it was a 2 hour lineup to get in! We ended up having to skip it, because we had a schedule we were trying to stick to, and that would have made us miss other things. One of the best things we did was take the train to Bath, and toured the Roman Baths, then from there to Salisbury, where we took a bus to see Stonehenge. It was amazing! We left early in the morning, and were back by around 8pm or so. We were there for 7 days, and took thousands of pictures! Enjoy it!

I suggest getting an Oyster card so you can use the bus and subway easily. You can buy them at automated kiosk before entering the subway at Heathrow. I'll second the Portobello Rd Market. I'm glad I had room in my suitcase for the treasures I bought there and keep in mind that they are open to negotiating on the prices. All museums are free (a donation are welcomed, but not required), at least all the ones we visited. My favorite was actually the natural history museum. British museum is nice too, but was much more crowded and I'm not huge on crowds so may be why it was knocked down a notch. For people watching and a nice day Hyde Park is nice. It will be full of people, but still not feel crowded and lots to see other than people. The Kensington Palace is there too. We didn't do the tour as we didn't feel the price was worth it at the time and with the other things on our plate it didn't rate as high. However, I grew up in Europe and have seen/been in plenty of castles/manors/palaces so not really my thing. Natural History museum is basically around the corner from Hyde Park. Hop-on-hop off can be nice especially if you want to see some of the well known buildings/monuments and are tired of walking. You can choose to get off if you want a closer look or just view it from the bus. Tower of London - I found it very interesting and appreciated all the tour guides in their particular areas. I'm a history buff though. Unless you really love seeing jewelry the wait and line to see the crown jewels may or may not be worth it to you. I really wasn't that interested in it, but my friend was so I tagged along to be a good friend. Tower bridge - the glass floor and laying down on it and looking down was cool for this gal who is afraid of heights, and I liked the tours/videos that walked through the history, but I wouldn't spend the money again as I thought the value wasn't there. Near the British Museum is a large shopping street (Oxford St) - Typical chain stores, but also Selfridge, so if you've seen the British TV show - Mr Selfridge it might be cool to visit. Harrod's is in another shopping area and depending on your interests might also be worth a visit. I agree on seeing a show while there if you like musicals. I have every time I've visited. You can purchase ahead now or there are places at Picadilly Circus where you can purchase from all, but will be more expensive. Some sell out though and those will often have a lottery on their door step for extra tickets they have available after a certain time. Since you only need single seating this might be the way to go. We did this one time and didn't get the tickets. The ticket booths that sell to all shows was useful to us in knowing what shows still had tickets. We then took our chances and went straight to the theater to purchase the tickets as it was a lot cheaper. There is also a normal chain store shopping area here. Has a bit of the same feel like NY Times Square, but with a London twist. It is not that far from Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace and St James park (across from Buckingham palace). Oh Beer, wine, and ice cream are available at all shows as well and you get to bring it in with you to sip/drink/eat during the show too.

Still have SO much to consider and decide on, but wanted to say that I've now decided to stay over for two nights so will have a bit more time, and also reserved a room at the Salisbury on 57th Street, a very short stroll from Central Park. The hotel is older (right next to the Calvary Baptist Cathedral; I believe the hotel building is actually owned by the church), and a bit shabby -- but in that way it reminds me of places I've stayed in London. As I was perusing the hotel's website and considering a very decent sale rate of $120 per night for a king room, the site suddenly changed and showed a dropped price of $48 (!) for the last king room available on my chosen arrival night. I hopped on that like a cat on a paper bag! So, while not the most glamorous accommodation in the city, the location is amazing. I'm really excited, but truly overwhelmed at the choices I now have to make as to what will fill my time. My friends have not fully committed to staying over, but I suspect they will. Even if they don't, I'm going to have fun!