There’s a lot going on, try to keep up.
My twenty minute walk in the rain last night lead to neither towels nor an umbrella.
I was on the Tower Bridge during a thunder storm, a frightening, beautiful moment.
I was soaking wet when I returned, this leads us to travel lesson number 1) Creative Uses for a T-Shirt.
Passibly dry, I went to the pub for a night of cider, kaoroke, & the movie “Oceans Eleven” all going on at the same time.
Today, after a breakfast of toast & tea (all that was available), three Americans – Adam, Maggie, & Gloria – and myself all attended the Changing of the Guard.
We took a detour through Hyde Park and stopped at Speakers Corner. I gave a rousing oration on the merits of the metric system, but the crowd was apathetic.
The Guard Changing was stately, ceremonial, and crowded. All was going well until the official marching band broke out in the “Star Wars” theme. I ended up rolling in the streets. In spite of the hilarity, I think I got some good photos of the horse guard riding down the street and the black taxis that were zooming past them.
After a lunch of fish & chips at The Slug and Lettuce. I split from the group and headed to the House of Parliment.
Photos don’t sufficiently portray the complex nature of architecture involved here. A gothic panorama frames the passing river. I was overwhelmed. I did my best to add to the dirth of inadequate pictures and moved on to the London Aquarium.
Fish
More fish
I grabbed a ticket to the London Eye for tomorrow. More later on this.
The next two hours were spent looking for a towel. I’m convinced that London only sells novelty souveniers, stationary, hair care products, and cell phones. No store carried more than one type of product and all of it was something I didn’t need. Even locals had no idea where I should go. Harrods probably got there reputation simply by carrying stuff people actually needed. My final solution was to buy a Travel Towel in a camping store for 15?. (There’s a ? symbol on my keyboard, damn.)
Shooting back to the hostel for a dinner meeting, the train I was on became stuck. Over the course of the next hour, I got to talking with Margherita, the Polish-by-way-of-Italy young lady crammed into the train next to me. She spoke fluent Polish and Italian, a was learning English. I happen to be learning English as well. When the train was finally moving again, I invited to her grab a drink and we spent an enjoyable two hours practicing her English in a nearby bar. She gave me some great tips on Italian restaurants.
After field testing my new towel in the hot tub & sauna, I meet another American – Jessica – and we went down to All Bar One for a wine and custard pudding.
A full day; I’m going to bed.
11:30 in London
P.S.: I’ve typed this post three time and payed out 3? for internet access. I’ve either got to post less or see less. I think we know the answer to that quandry.