London/Glasgow Travelogue: Day 1

I normally don't so personal blogging, but a few folks wanted to track my travels this week. In London today -- and reminded of how tough international flights are - everytime I get on one I swear I'll only do it again if I fly first class, but then when it comes time to ticket I think about the money and choose the cheap seats. This time, that meant next to the bathroom with a seat that didn't recline properly. Ugh. Not much sleep - but a little Janis Ian music helped.

I survived the underground, which was mostly aboveground. Terrorist's didn't bother me at all. Not one. But there were a lot of flights of stairs to bump up with luggage. Those bothered me. Family has all suggested I avoid the underground, but it turns out that a Taxi would have been $120 and the underground was around $7. So, tough. London is VERY expensive.

London's not like Paris - I'm not immediately in love. It's more like Paris than Seattle, and I love both of those cities. So I suspect it will grow on me. There are smart cars (the little bitty ones) and there are SUV's. The people here feel very similar to people in a US city - I don't feel out of place at all.

The sense of history is fantastic. I can see buildings outside the window of the internet cafe I'm sitting in which may well be older than our country. I walked by a castle that wes definitely older than the US.

I'm in the Kensington area, and plan to go to Hyde Park tommorrow. Maybe I'll rent roller blades.