More of London

More of Journal for Tuesday, Feb 3, London, 2nd day of the Big Snow


To be fair, I really, really loved being in London (even though its citizens were all in the grip of Severe Snow Neurosis while I was there. Fortunately, it's not contagious.) What is dangerous, though, are the clutzy things a person can do in a hotel room. Which is why I'm sacrificing a body part to my trip to London. Our room had about a 5" curb-type thing at the entry to the bathroom. I don't know why; but it was quite effective in destroying my toe as I made my way to the bathroom in the dark in the middle of the night. I'm expecting my toenail to fall off any day now. But I've got 9 others, so it's no big deal. Having watched Monty Python movies which provides 90% of my knowledge of England, I expected some body part to fall off anyway on this trip.

These are some of my favorite photos from the top of the double decker bus. Don't they make you want to go to London?









Here's another bit of travel advice I can offer: try not to spill the wine you buy at the grocery store on the carpet. Someone, (whose name I won't mention but whose initial are "Brian", knocked over his glass. We used up all that minimal ration of toilet paper given in a European hotel in blotting this up. But, that's where it comes in handy having another bathroom down the hall; you can abscond with another roll of toilet paper during dire wine emergencies!

The London Eye, along the Thames River.

OK, this tip is real. If you travel to London, their electrical current is 240; ours is 110. Transformers, which are suppose to reduce the electrical current from 240 to 110, don't tend to work. For things like hair dryers, you're better off trying to use one provided by the hotel. For other appliances, in addition to a transformer, you would need an adapter. An adapter makes it so you can actually plug in our US plug thingy, into the other configuration of holes-in-the-wall that another country might have. Now, here's the good part. Lots of our appliances (like ipod chargers and shavers for the boy-types!) are dual voltage. Go ahead and look at one. If you look closely at the writing on it (which I hardly ever, ever look at), you'll see something like 110/240. This means you can plug it into an adapter and right into the UK wall! This didn't work, however, for my Nikon battery charger, and believe me, I was guarding that precious battery power very carefully! Maybe next time I travel hither and yon, I'll make sure I have a spare battery.

The London Tower Bridge, photo shot from the top of the double decker bus as we drove under this. It was completed in 1894, during Victorian times. The London bridge was actually begun in 1209, out of stone! As in Medieval times! How cool is that? It lasted about 600 years. The current version of the London bridge was built in 1972.



This is a shot of the London Eye framing Big Ben.

I don't have pictures for it, but this evening, we went to a comedy club, and it was thoroughly enjoyable! I want you to know that I am now educated on the finer points of tickling chickens, and saw a documentary on the horrific effects of Bells Gone Berserk.

If I ever go back to London, I'd love to go to the Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe, the Photographers Museum, and do more of the London Walks. I'd go in warmer weather, although if my weather curse caused snow again, the Brits would probably cry. And ban me from their city.