I found an Internet cafe at the back of a grocery store chain; they charge 1 pound per hour; 1 hour minimum. I'll take a bit more time, and perhaps give a bit more detail.
We made it to London safely, and only a little behind time. We were originally scheduled to arrive 8:55 AM at Waterloo station, and ended up rolling in at 9:15 instead. Profuse apologies over the train intercom, as though this was a major, horrible delay.
The departure from Paris went very smoothly; we were at Gare du Nord 1/2 an hour before, and check in was very much like going through for an airplane -- except we didn't have to take off our shoes. Once on the train, it was very nice indeed. The seats are spaced the way I remember airlines used to be -- not first class, but ample leg room, and full sized tray tables.
Furthermore, we could move about, and in fact three of us spent some time snacking and sipping hot drinks in the dining car. Martha and Meagan spent the majority of the trip. The train was fairly smooth; it was fun when it rocked, and this was overall much more pleasant than flying. Definitely the way to fly, on the ground.
The connection via the Tube from Waterloo to Paddington couldn't have gone smoother. The Olympic hotel (see our itinerary page) is only a few blocks away.
There was some sort of announcement about Picadilly being closed. We found out later that day why, seeing the headlines on the papers. However, I have a theory that news becomes more sensational in proportion to the distance from the source of the news.
Frankly, while the attempted bombing is certainly making major headlines, everything is proceeding very normally. There are scads of people everywhere; tourists are still rolling their suitcases from Paddington station, and their were scads and scads of people downtown London today. More about that below.
One quick note about the hotel: the room is fantastic. The hotel was recently renovated, and it shows. Everything is very clean and sparkly, and even a bit science fiction-like. The front door opens automatically, as though an invisible butler is there. The elevator talks to you. The room has satellite, flat screen TV, which the girls have appreciated in the evenings as we go to sleep.
We are in the basement of the hotel, which sounds bad, but actually reminds me very much of the flats I saw in Boston, where you walk down, and everything is still brightly lit, via windows that are just at street level. It all seems very artistic somehow.
Today we did our major trip to the Tower of London. We left early, and that plus the rain today made for a very pleasant journey. We took the Tube to get there (Bakerloo line, then transfer at Embankment station, to the District line, about 30 minutes total. We were there by 9:30.
We obtained Oyster cards yesterday (we actually got a very good deal on them; I'll write about that another time), which allow us to use the Tube and bus just by touching the card to a sensor. The discounts are substantial; in some cases the fare is cut in half. Cutting fares with an Oyster -- sounds like a Beatles lyric from their pyschedelic period.
We ended up spending almost the entire day at the Tower. We took a short tour led by one of the Yeoman Warders (nicknamed the Beefeaters). It was short because of the rain; we went straight to the chapel.
As with most of the Yeoman, he has a substantial military career: 26 years before becoming a Yeoman. The talk is lively, amusing, energetic, and not to be missed. It was a good way to start, because we then had a very good sense of what we were looking at later.
There was no line for the Crown Jewels; we essentially had the place to ourselves at this point. I wasn't actually that prepared to be interested or impressed, but I actually was. The details and history and design are actually quite interesting.
We then had great fun looking at all of the various towers, looking the various exhibits and reading the information, and even paid an extra pound to tour the Fusiliers museum. As the day went on, things became more and more crowded, and things were pretty shoulder to shoulder at the end of our stay, although it was not unbearable. We took the surface bus back instead of the tube, so as to see London Above instead of London Below, and by the time all was said and done, we were not back to our room until 7:30.
I'm still processing the information, but it's all a bit sobering. The main theme I've come away with is that some things about the military life have not changed -- lack of support and supplies from above being a primary example. The other is the bitter and bloody battle between Protestants and Catholics in the UK's history.
So ... I think that is quite enough for now. Tomorrow, we plan to go to the Globe theater, which Monika is very much looking forward to. After that, we'll likely take some sort of Thames cruise, the London Eye, and a few other random things. After that, it's whatever happens. I'm actually very much hoping to pay a visit to the Sherlock Holmes museum, which is nearby. There's also on off-chance that we might try to catch a theater performance...
Things to write about later:
- The bus ride 15 back from the Tower. Great for seeing above ground, but Oxford street beats the College Ave. commute by more than a single order of magnitude.
- The canals that are here, the rainstorm, the sunshine, and the amazing curling drawbridge.
And there'll be more.
I'll likely try to hit the cafe another time before we leave England, as it's easier to type on an English keyboard.
Do be aware that I'm seening your e-mails; I just don't have time to reply to them right now.
We go back via the Chunnel on the afternoon of 3 July. We arrive in the evening in Paris, and we've already arranged to pick up the key to the appartment.
As Tigger would say: TTFN.
(BTW, the editor on this computer was a bit weird, so my apologies for formatting or spelling).
