London

July 27 2008
The flight from Perugia to London was really nice. Clear skys all the way until we got over England. Big surprise. While we were landing I overheard a woman say that it was 'quite a nice day today', but it was mostly cloudy. When I got into the airport I stood in the wrong line twice while trying to clear customs. I don't know what the point of being in an English speaking country is if you aren't going to read the signs anyways. After I finally figured it out, the customs officer asked me a million questions ranging from where I was staying to who I'll be working for when I return home.

After I finally got through I went to the 'hole in the wall' to get some cash out. I took the train from Stansted to London which took about 45 minutes then went to find Sophie's office. I had to get a name tag printed out before the huge security guards would let me through. It was a bit intimidating going into that place, especially dressed like I was - shorts and a t-shirt. We went up stairs and dropped my bag and I left to go tour London till Sophie finished work.

I decided to visit Big Ben first. I took the 'tube' there and sat in the garden listening to music and reading the paper. While I sat there the clouds broke up and it got really sunny. This meant that I had to retake all the pictures of Big Ben. I then went and saw the eye of London. Its a huge ferris wheel right next to Big Ben. After sitting in the park there for a bit Sophie called and I went to meet her and her co-workers for some drinks.

Everyone in the commercial part of London go out for drinks outside if the weather is nice. Again I was well underdressed. The closest person to me might have taken his tie and jacket off. I met Sophies friends and we made plans to go to dinner then out after.

I got some spicy curry for dinner because I have been craving something spicy for a while (Italy doesn't really do spicy). The dinner was really nice and we 'had some laughs' with Sophie's friends. We tried to convince her friend Sameer to come out to Infernos, but he wouldn't come even though its supposedly his favorite place. Everyone else says that the 'cheese' music and the vomit on the floor would be too much for them. I had a great time. They played some real classics and they had a place on stage where two people could get up and dance in front of everyone (Sophie danced in front of everyone). At about 3:30 we started our adverture home.

The nice thing about London is that busses run all night... just not necessarily where you want them to. It took 2 busses and a mile walk to get home and it was getting light when we got there. When we got back Sophie showed me my room and I was thrilled to find a REAL bed. Not a couch not a floor, a REAL bed. This might not sound like a big deal but if you lived like me the past 8 months its pretty cool.

Ok I'm sort of rambling now. So Saturday I didn't wake up till about 12:30. We missed the 2:30 train just because of laziness so we took an even later one. We walked around town saw Buckingham Palace, got some expensive Coke, sat in some chairs in the park, and gave Sameer crap about not coming out the night before. Then we went to London's 'Times Square' or Piccadily Circus. Its pretty nice. Unfortunately I gave up my Starbucks virginity while at the Circus. It was pretty depressing, but quite good. While drinking the devil's milk we walked through Leicester Square on our way to Covent Garden, where we watched a guy put a sword down his throat, while standing on the top of a ladder, while juggling. Crazy. Then he wanted money for it for some reason. I gave him a pound to shut him up. So did about 200 other people.

After that I had a delicious burger. It was awesome. It had been a while since I have eaten food that actaully filled me up. This might be why I like London so much. I've actually been filled after every meal here. Anyways, after this we went to a pub in South London to see Sophie's cousin Jamie for his birthday. The people in London get pretty drunk. At one point this guy pulled himself out in front of everyone. This guy makes Steve look conservative. We closed down the pub then went home.

Today we decided to go see the Lion King and it was amazing. They were so creative with the costumes. My favorite was obviously the elephant. I would recommend seeing it. I'd tell you more but I don't want to give away the ending.

Tomorrow Sophie has to go to work or something like that. (I think she is lying and is just trying to get away from me). I'm going to walk around London and probably buy Maryland Cookies... which we don't have in Maryland for some reason. After she gets out of work we are going to the pub (big surprise) and then I get ready to go to Hong Kong on Tuesday.

- Alex

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