Final Thoughts from London

So, I figure I'll start off with an accounting of the last two days, and then talk about what my next few days look like, and then speak in generalities about my experience in England.

Yesterday was a very lazy day. I woke up around 8 (which is a strange start to a lazy day for me but I had to be up for free breakfast), ate breakfast, and set off to look for a currency exchange and make a phone call. I exchanged 20 $ (I'm down to 220 in cash now), spent some at an internet cafe for a little bit, grabbed some subway, and headed back to my hostel. I did laundry and read for a couple hours before heading back over to the internet cafe to try and upload some pictures. I was able to, but then the uploader thing froze once it was almost done and I ended up wasting about two hours and four pounds. Oh well. Then I went back to my hostel, read, ate some soup and granola bars, and went to bed. Like I said, a lazy day. It was a good day for it, too, because it was gloomy and rainy all day. Made me a little bit glad I didn't make it to the Lake District after all.

Today, I got up at 8 again, showered, ate breakfast, and packed. Then I left to head to the train station to check and make sure there was a place that I could check my pack for the day while I was out and about for the last time. They did, and I headed back to my hostel to pick up my pack, which they were nice enough to hold for me even though I didn't technically have a bed at that point. Just before I got to my hostel, at noon (8 Eastern time because the clocks went back an hour here on Saturday... weird) I cozied up to a pay phone to call my bank and sort some stuff out. I had called ahead to say that I was going abroad so don't freeze up my credit card, but for some reason they didn't think I might access my accounts online while I was here (I do all my banking online). Stupid. But I got all that sorted out, got my pack, and went back to the train station at St. Pancras to check my pack. At this point it was a little after one, and I had plenty of time to kill before I had to be back to get my pack (10 tonight... so in two hours). No problem.

Today was a cool, crisp, clear day, which was nice because at least half of the days so far have been gloomy, and two or three of the gloomy days it rained. So I went and saw some more sights. I went to the British Library, which was cool and really big but I couldn't get to where the books are without a membership card so I wasn't there long. At this point I was pretty hungry, so I hit up this little Panera-esque joint called PRET. I'd seen several of them around and wanted to try it, so I did. They have like a fridge thing that you pick wraps and drinks out of, with a little heated alcove if you want something hot, and then you can get soup and coffee at the register. I had a Spicy Falafel Wrap with apple juice; it was good. Then I went to London Bridge, which I have to say was anticlimatic. I mean, there was nothing special about the bridge except for the fact that it was London Bridge. There was a London Bridge road, a London Bridge walk, and I think a London Bridge park... but it was just a bridge with no cool looking suspensions or towers or anything. There was nothing on top. Whatever. So I went walking around the area, shopping a bit, and stopped at a Cafe Nero, which I think is supposed to be competition for Starbucks. I tried to get an espresso, but they didn't take credit cards so Starbucks wins by default.

After that, I went to the museum of Natural History. It was pretty cool; I spent some time in the Geology wing and learned a bunch of stuff that I already knew, and then headed over to the main hall and found the dinosaur exhibit. I have to say, the little kid in me got really excited when I saw that lol... don't judge me dinosaurs were my favorite when I was little. Anyway, the museum was cool, if crowded, and I ended up enjoying myself. After that, I was hungry again, so I finally got to go to an English pub. I went to Soho, and wound up at a bar right on one of the main thoroughfares (I already forget the name but it was good). I ordered a pint of whatever English beer the bartender thought was good, and then looked at the menu before ordering Jack Hanger's Pie, with mashed potatoes and vegetables. I think the beer may have been stronger than I'm used to, because after half of it I the beginnings of a buzz. I did drink it pretty fast, and I was running on empty, but still. Anyway, the food was good, and right after I got it this group of four girls walked up and sat next to me because I was at a long table and it was the only one that had room enough for all of them. We ended up talking and laughing for about an hour, which was fun. Then I hopped on the Tube again, came straight to the internet cafe I'm at now, and wrote this blog! Next I'll be sitting on my butt for seven hours before I catch my train to Paris.

I've had a slight change in my itinerary. Because Allison (the girl I'm supposed to meet in Luxembourg while I'm here) is leaving with her Dad this Saturday, I'm going to go straight to Luxembourg after I arrive in Paris. I'll be there for a day, perhaps two, going to a Halloween party tomorrow night (I dunno if I'll get a costume because I'll just have to throw it away); and then I'll just stay up North for awhile. A guy I was talking to at the hostel last night said that I should go North first anyway because if I wait too much longer I start to risk getting stuck by an early snowstorm... he was saying that they're rare at this point but the longer I wait the more likely they'll become. So after Luxembourg, I'll probably go straight to Germany for several days, then head to Amsterdam, then to Belgium. Then I'll leisurely make my way through France, stopping in Paris for a few days, and then through Spain, stopping at a beach in the South for a few days. I'll leave at least a week for Italy, with at least three or four days for Rome... saving the best for last, y'know. So that's the gameplan for now, but we all know that'll change in three days when something screws up my plan. Part of the fun, right?

Ok, so now I get to pontificate about my journey thus far. Here's what I've noticed about England in my brief stay:

-America and England are perhaps no longer siblings, but they are still first cousins. I ran into people that I'd expect to meet in NYC, and McDonald's, Starbucks, and Subways were all over. I saw American cars and American brands, and almost every movie poster or celebrity magazine focused on something American (especially the movies... do they make their own movies here?!)
-When I was in Westminster Abbey, the guy in the audio tour talked about how the 'genius' of Britain is that it stubbornly clings to tradition (like monarchs, for instance) while embracing change (like Parliament). I found that intriguing, and decided it was true when I was taking a modern tour bus through a small town that still had some houses with thatched roofs on my way to Stonehenge.

What I've learned so far...
-It's a good idea to always keep some cash on me. When I start to run low, I should go ahead and get some more because I never know when I'll need some.
-On the weekends, or when going to a very popular tourist destination, it's a good idea to book my hostel ahead of time. I almost didn't have a place to stay Saturday.
-I need a day, a whole day, every week or so to not have to go all over the place and be active. Staying in and being lazy yesterday did a lot for my state of mind.
-I love England, and want to come back because there's so much I haven't seen.
-London as a metaphor for life: I have several choices available to me. I need to pick one, and go after it, and not be upset or overly frustrated when things don't quite go my way. If I have backup choices, the I need to just pick one and get on with it.

Oh and... Uncle Tim- Thanks for the tips! Those sound great, I'll check them out. Red Guy- I confess myself to be intrigued. Florida and older than me... in my family, that would be my Aunt Barb. But she is neither red nor a guy. There was a guy at work, Jacob, who was older than me and I think he went back to Florida, but I don't think that's who you are because I doubt he's still in contact enough with anyone up in Fairfield to know about this blog. So I am, as before, at a loss as to your identity.

Ok, that's all for now. I don't think I'll be posting tomorrow (I'll be on trains and then partying it up tomorrow night) so the next time I'll be on here should be Wednesday, assuming they have internet cafes in Luxembourg.

See you back here Wednesday!

-Swag