Okay...so it's about 5:00pm on Tuesday the 14th...it's been a lovely day in London and I thought I'd pop an email to you and tell some stories of my time here so far...since I have the FREE internet usage here! Like my "I MADE IT TO LONDON" email said...we arrived safely, made our way thru immigrations (which was painless) and then embarked on a crash course in taking public transport in London (first by bus, then by the underground train...or "the tube" as they call it) and then by foot to our B&B near Victoria Station area. This is actually my first time staying in a B&B (this one is more like a small hotel cuz they put fruit and snacks in your room but don't serve an actual breakfast)...it's a lovely place and in a great location. It is located on a street with rows of hotels and B&B's (but they are all connected as one long building...it's very typical in the UK). I'm instantly reminded of the flats I lived in when I was in Glasgow (the decor of designed carpet and textured wall paper that is painted over with bright colors, high ceilings with decorative moldings, snub (sp?) locks at chest hight on the doors, and the toilet room has the tinyiest sink in the world...well, close to what Carrie & Andrew have in their flat in Glasgow!) It feels so familiar and that has made me very comfortable and relaxed. I'm still finding that I'm making mistakes with the language (you laugh...but there are different words and phrases that we in the States don't use...and I'm having to remember things)...like today my mom and I got up really early and went for a brisk walk at 6:30am and we popped round to the nearest Starbucks (yes they have them everywhere in the big cities here too!) I purchased our coffees and the barista asked me if it was "sit in" or " take away" (instead of "for here" or "to go")...I stumbled (could be from it being WAY TOO EARLY FOR ME TO BE WALKING AND TALKING ANYWAYS) and I replied without thinking "to go"...she immediately corrected me and repeated "take away?" YES! thank you. I laughed inside...Ohhhh Lisa, it will come back...just be patient. It's wild to think that the customs here had become a way of life for me when I lived in Scotland 3 years ago...and now I've totally readjusted to living back in my own culture and now that I'm back here I am finding that I've forgotten a lot. Anyways, on to what we've done so far. Last night we went to a pub just round the corner called The Shakespeare. We had fish n chips and mushy peas and pints of lager. My parents and I toasted our first night here together...it was a great way to start out. ...although I don't like mushy peas (we ate a lot of them at HMC in Glasgow) but my mom rather liked them. Today we got up early so we could catch the BIG BUS London Tour Bus (which is a great way to see the city...cuz you can hop on hop off within a 24 hour time period so you can enjoy the sites but still catch the bus to continue on. We did it all...we got to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (amazing! regal! astoundingly brilliant!), we got to see Picadilly Circus (where we stopped at the Tourist info to figure out where to get our Heritage Passes validated), we ate sandwiches & Walkers crisps for lunch sitting on the steps in Trafalgar Square (the perfect vantage point for people watching), we browsed thru the National Gallery (oh my goodness...Monet, Van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne, etc, etc, etc, all for FREE! overwhelming...absolutely overwhelming with rooms and rooms of famous paintings from all eras up thru 1900s). Then we went to the Houses of Parliament where Big Ben towers into the sky and mom made a phonecall to the States in one of the famous red phone boxes (from a calling card I bought at a wee shop with a little old man from Pakistan running it, that sells sweets and magazines and newspapers and stuff (a very familiar thing here in the UK!). One of the funnest parts of the day was JUST strolling by the River Thames and purchasing some wee sketches of London from a street vendor for £1!!! Speaking of the £ (British pound)...one almost pays double the dollar for the pound. Expensive!!! much more than it was when I lived over here 3 years ago.BUT regardless...we're having fun and not worrying about expense...at least not yet. The bus took us past St. Paul's Cathedral, over the Tower Bridge, and past the Tower of London (which we plan to go back to those sights and spend some time at tomorrow). Tomorrow we'll sightsee by taking the tube. As to what else we'll do...we'll see how it goes. We figure we also will have a couple days in London on the tail end of our trip...so if we miss something and want to see it still , we can do so on our return. We're having so much fun...taking loads of pictures...taking our time...talking to people...and just relaxing. This morning when my mom and I took our walk to go get some breakfast (Cornish Pasties...yum!) I encountered smells and sounds as we walked along the streets that I remember as familiar to my experience living in the UK (funny how that is, isn't it? i mean...the UK just looks and smells and sounds and feels different than the US). Anyways, I felt at home and made me think that the UK is still "IN" my heart!! I've been enjoying all the little things and being that this trip has just begun...I know that I'll have loads more experiences to embrace and enjoy. Oh...and today the bus driver called me "luv"....and I smiled inside. I've missed it over here. Well, thats all for now...we'll go to a pub tonight for dinner and then it's a new day tomorrow. I send my love to you! Cheers, Lisa
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