London: A Little Rain and A Lot of Walking

About one hour out, they served breakfast. It consisted of a warm croissant, a stubby little cold banana, orange juice and coffee or tea. The cold banana was the highlight for me.

As for the coffee, I was reminded of something I witnessed at the Starbucks in the Cincinnati airport. In front of me was a well-dressed young man who seemed to be a little disoriented and confused. I thought that maybe he was suffering from jet lag or something. Instead, he was dealing with culture shock because when he spoke, it was clear that he was Italian and that he didn’t know English real well. When he got his cup of coffee, he looked at it like it was a foreign object and he slowly walked away. But at one point he stopped and asked if what was in the cup “was real coffee.” The young girl said, “Yes. ” As he walked away, he seemed doubtful. I didn’t watch to see if he tried to drink it but knowing that Italian coffee is considerably different from Starbucks coffee, I’m guess that he may not have liked what he got.

8:47 PM: I am back in my little room in the Kensington Close Hotel, which is located near a very active shopping disctrict. We have had a full day but I am too tired to write about it tonight. Maybe tomorrow. But in a nutshell, here's the day:

• Arrived at London Gatwick airport at about 9:20
• Passed through passport control, united with the rest of our group
• Got British Pounds
• Rode the bus to our hotel, where we parked our suitcases (rooms weren't ready)
• Took the tube to Trafalgar Square and other places
• Ate dinner at a Hard Rock Cafe wannabe (owned by a Rolling Stone)
• Strolled through the neighborhood with the Watertown group
• Here I am

My goal is to try to stay up as late as possible tonight - if I'm lucky, I will make it until 9:30. It is good to be in London and I am pleased to report that everybody in our group is healthy and happy.

Send money! (London is very expensive.)