Shock and Awe

Wednesday I toured London with my brother!! WOW!! I was blown away! London is definitely a melting pot. And when I say melting pot, i don't just mean different kinds of people, because with the different kinds of people came tons of styles, different mannerisms, and all sorts of crazy stuff! It was a lot to take in!

There were so many amazing things to see and do and since we walked over 5 miles on Wednesday; I learned a few more lessons in travel, sight seeing, and having fun!!

#1 When traveling by train: if you get motion sickness easy, don't watch the area wear the cars are joined. The movement of wobbling cars can give you the heebeegeebies....

A) Also.. don't stop and wait for people. On the underground (the tube as it's called) there are thousands of people with destinations and agendas... if you pause so they can walk in front of you or something.. you'll get mowed down. Just keep moving... that was a hard one for me.

#2 When traveling on foot: Have fun..and who cares if you get lost... if you have the whole day to do what you want then do it!! Tom and I took some back streets and just went with the flow. We found a cute little pub for lunch, and a fire brigade museum we wouldn't have found if we'd just stuck to the main roads.

#3 Be aware of the cost to convert your money and pay attention in shops for forms of payment

#4 When going to a restaurant, ask to see a menu first.. this will help with two main things: A) finding a place that has food you really want to eat and B) finding a place you can afford to eat! Tom and I looked at several places before we stopped for lunch. One place that smelled so good when we walked by we found out was completely organic food. They served things like chicken wraps with yogurt and garlic sauce. Something I wouldn't mind, but my brother would NEVER eat!!

#5 Also while you're traveling around on foot, you'll see several street peddlers. They are out there to make money. They are either bums with no place to live or they are actors just out to make a buck... BE CAREUL if you decide you want to give someone money. Some of these people really do need help others as I said are con artists. We found a man playing sax on the street and it sounded AMAZING... but as soon as we started to walk over to give him some change... the "street police" as Tom and I called them, walked over to him to give him a citation. Apparently in England you have to have a permit to perform EVEN IF you are dirt poor. It's how the Queen makes money. There are several things you need permits for or pay extra taxes for. In fact on a side bar you have to pay a tax to have your TV and you have to pay a tax to have screens on your windows.... funny I thought. (We just kept walking then as the police approached. You never interfere in official acts here or you're liable to get scooped up along with the rest of them and taken away or ticketed yourself. We decided we better just hold on to our money.)

Anyway... that's what I know so far... I feel so incompetent in some ways here.. there are so many things I don't know about or understand... but I've enjoyed learning and I'm sure there will be more to write as the days go by!!

Cheers!