SprouseNet

London, Part 1
These photos were taken on Monday, 25 September, basically our first day in London. We arrived the previous day, but after flying out of Columbus around 3 on Saturday and finally arriving at the hotel at 10:30 Sunday, that first day was pretty much a wash. We dropped off the luggage (check-in was not until 2!) then went walking around Notting Hill and bought some records. When we finally got to our room, we both were just filthy and wanted a shower, and then we just crashed.

Monday we did some shopping. Chris found a lot of stuff (an English version of a book he only has in Spanish in addition to the Tintin, Milou and Capt. Haddock figurines in the photo) at the Tintin shop, and we both spent a lot of time in Forbidden Planet, a geek paradise. I felt totally at home there-looking around at sci-fi books and the music playing was the soundtrack from Twilight Zone-The Movie.

We ate dinner at a pub called the Bayswater Arms and ate fish and chips-excellent. Something was up with the ketchup. It is bottled here in England, and it tasted a little different. It was thicker and not as sweet-it was much better than the American ketchup, and we are not sure why. We did notice after we ate it that the expiration date had passed, so maybe it was just fermentation. And if that is the case, I'm going to leave my ketchup out in the sun for a month when we get home.

We also had our first ride on the London Underground. Chris was a lot better at finding his way than I was-I was really glad he was with me. Having lived my whole life in a city with really crappy public transportation (you know I love you, COTA, but you just aren't enough!) I have never been good at figuring out what train to take and when. Chris spent a lot of time on the DC Metro, so he was ready for the tube. We never got lost, but I'm sure I would have had I been alone. But, after a few transfers I finally got the hang of it. I really wish we had something similar in Ohio-it is so fast and really helps with congestion. If everyone on the tube had driven into the city it would have been jammed. They even have an 8 pound congestion fee.

Our hotel is very nice. It is small, but has a sofa in addition to the bed, a kitchen area with sink, microwave, fridge, and 2 burner range, and a dvd player. We've been stocking the fridge with snacks and drinks from the Tesco down the street. Some of my new favorite things are cheese and onion crisps, and the Magnum strawberry secret. We will say that Irn-Bru is not our new favorite thing.

















From Top:
1) Chim-Chimney, Chim-Chim, Cheroo--the view from our hotel at night
2) The view on our first day in London, uncharacteristically hot and sunny
3) Ah! This is more like it! Xan on her way down a rainy Carnaby Street to browse the selection of Dr. Marten's Boots
4) Forbidden Planet
5) The Tintin Shop UK
6) "I can assure you this is not the least bit amusing" says Xan as she rides the escalator in the Tottenham Court Tube Station, site of much Lycanthropic scariness in An American Werewolf In London
7) Examining the day's spoils back in the hotel room