We made it

Things don't always turn out the way you plan. I figured it would take us one day to adjust after an entire day of travel, and it took two days for us to make it out of the hotel before 1 p.m. I also planned to get up and hit the gym each morning. So far that hasn't worked out either. I figure we're offsetting all the fried food and chocolate (yes, it is better here) with all the walking we've been doing. Pat did a stellar job picking a hotel. We're in the heart of the financial district in a brand new Hilton. As far as we can tell we're about the only people staying there. It's dead quiet. We're a bit of a tube ride in to town but it only took a day to figure it out. Now we have to navigate the weekend tube line closures as they're performing line upgrades. The weather has been perfect. No rain, enough sun to turn our faces pink and just right for taking pictures of all the sights. Once I get really good with this Internet cafe thing I'll figure out how to upload some of the better ones. We've seen all the big tourist spots except for the changing of the guard. That's tomorrow. We had a nice chat with the London equivalent of the captain for the busiest fire station in town. It was fun listening to Pat and Watch Master Andy compare notes. They run about the same call volume per year, but in London the Fire department only runs fire calls or calls where tactical maneuvers are required. For example, that morning Andy and his crew had to free a female trapped under one of the double decker buses. A tourist, I'm sure. It takes a bit to get used to traffic coming at you from the 'wrong' direction. Andy also made a scary point - every call they answer he's always thinking in the back of his mind that it could be a terrorist attack. He told a story about a car bombing last year. The people who planted the bomb in car A were smart enough to put a second bomb in car B down the road - exactly where the bombers knew the emergency personnel would stage their vehicles for the response to car A. When asked who was responsible for the attacks he was quick to answer. You all know what he said. Luckily the bomb sniffing dogs figured out the bombs in both cars before anyone was hurt. This city does move quickly and at times you've almost got to be a bit pushy to get where you need to be. I have yet to see a salad listed on a menu. Our fish and chips were served with peas. I was given the option of mushy peas and I figured, when in doubt, skip anything mushy. After a what could have been an embarrassing episode Pat figured out the difference between the male and female figures indicating the different restrooms, or toilets as they call them. We were also informed that potato chips are actually crisps. Everyone orders them with their beer. Not a bad way to go. We have a day and a half left in London, then we pick up the rental car and head for the hills. We'll try and write before then, but wish us luck!