Believe it or Not!

Day 503
I was up early and packed and put my things in storage for the day. After some internet time I headed back to the Thai Airways office. I was happy to see that they had cash for me and I felt suddenly flush. I also had a few hours left to kill and some things that I wanted to see.

J.W. Waterhouse has long been one of my favorite artists. Unfortunately not many of his paintings are in public collections. I've only managed to see about five of his pieces in person, many more are familiar to me thru books and the internet. The largest collection of Waterhouses work ever assembled together was currently being held at the Royal Academy of Arts.

The exhibit was amazing. My favorite, the Lady of Shallot, was there it's usually at the Tate Britain. As so many of the paintings were from private collections I felt really privileged to see them. Marianne and Tristam and Isolde were among those. It was really amazing. I couldn't believe my good timing.

Next up was the rather new Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum, well, odditorium. I hesitated a bit at the price and that was enough for me to run into a family of three with 2 buy one get one free tickets, they needed a fourth person to get the lower price for their daughter. I happily obliged and paid for half of a ticket. The museum was very new and very well done, it looked really really good.

The smallest road legal car in the world was there as well as an American them ed mini-cooper. There were several multi-limbed animals and a collection of people who can make really weird faces. There was a bottle of beer brewed using yeast found in an Egyptian tomb and lint sushi. I also learned that the word Yankee came from the Indians mispronouncing the word English. Also that Lancaster, PA was the US capital for one day on September 27, 1777.

When I had finished with the museum I grabbed lunch at Yo Sushi! and then headed back. I had a little bit of internet time before grabbing my things and heading to the airport. I hadn't checked my flight time and ended up there about 40 minutes earlier than I needed to be. I passed the time planning and reading. Soon enough my flight to Bratislava took off. I was picking up just where I had left off 8 months before.

When the plane landed everyone cheered. I couldn't figure out why, there wasn't any turbulence or anything like that. Immigration was a breeze and soon I was on my way to the hostel. I was pretty lucky because I made the last bus and the last tram of the day. Once in the hostel I checked in and then checked my email before calling it a night.

Mondays

Day 502
I really hated that I had to leave London the next day and was really sort of lazy with waking up. It was also Monday, the day that most museums are closed so I didn't really have a lot to do. After some internet time I headed to Piccadilly Circus to return the plane ticket that I was forced to buy when I left for Bangkok about 8 months ago.

At the office I found out that they only return cash payments as checks and that they don't send things to the US. After a few phone calls they told me that I could probably get cash in the morning and that I should come back. I was a bit disappointed because I thought I would have a lot of cash to spend. I still needed to do some shopping though, I've been tossing a lot of clothes recently and was down to only one pair of pants.

After shopping I headed back to Camden and hung out in my hostel room and fell asleep for a bit. I then went to the internet cafe to make some phone calls and check my email. This is when I found out that Sarah, one of the girls I had stayed with last time I was here, had to work at the last minute and needed to cancel on me. I gave her a quick call and she gave me directions to her place so that I could pick up the winter clothes that I had left here prior to my last minute SEA departure. I also called Edward to see if he would like to meet up again.

When my internet time was up I headed up the Northern line to Sarah's flat and picked up my things. It felt good to be reunited with my European guidebooks. It's too bad that I didn't get to catch up with Sarah as well though. I then headed further north to meet up with Edward. It was Monday and the pub was dead but it was a really nice place. We drank some Magners and chatted for a few hours. It has been so nice to spend the weekend with Edward and to be in London.

I went back to the hostel and fell quickly asleep.

Half Blood

Day 501
I was up stupid early again and went back to the internet cafe after some breakfast. Edward met me around lunch time and we wandered around the Camden Market stalls for a while. A lot of the stuff for sale were things that I had seen and even bought in SEA, China and India. The prices were unbelievable! I'm glad that I bought those things where they cost $2, not where they cost $20!

Edward and I then wandered thru Regents Park and down to Leicester Square. I think he was a bit surprised that we had walked so far After a quick lunch at Weatherspoons (an inexpensive pub chain) we had to hurry to make our movie in time. We were going to see Harry Potter! It was really nice to see the movie not only in the UK but also on the biggest screen in the country. Edward had booked the tickets ahead of time to ensure that we would have good seats. The movie was really very good, I can't wait for the next, and last, one!

After the movie we went back to Waxy O'Connell's for a few drinks. Unfortunately Edward has one of those job things and had to be up in the morning to go to work. Before parting we made plans to meet up in Budapest in a month or so. Once again we said goodbye on the tube.

It was only about 11 so I spent some time online before calling it a night.

Wandering

Day 500
The hostel I was staying at was the same one that I had stayed at my first time in London 7 years ago. You would have thought that I would have had an easier time finding it the night before! With all the time changing I'd been doing I was up early, but that was good, this place served breakfast rather early.

After eating I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with Edward. I walked by the Camden locks and watched the market vendors set up. When I lived here I would take an long lunch every Saturday and come up here. I used to eat at a crepe stand that isn't there any more. It's been replaced by a large building and indoor shops. Ahh, the march of time and gentrification. This was the third time I'd been here though since the building went up. Now it looks like it belongs. I wonder how that happens?

Eventually I found a super cheap internet cafe and caught up on my emails before heading back to the hostel where I was meeting Edward.

The two of us had thought about going to Brighton for the day but decided against it at the last minute. Instead we hopped on the tube and headed to Leicester Square. We ended up at a really nice wine bar, it was just a bit too early to drink though so we ordered some orange juice and checked out the cellar-like place. We then went to Trafalgar Square where there is an empty statue pedestal. I forget why, but for a certain amount of time every half an hour there was a different person on the pedestal doing whatever they wanted to. We saw a guy in a cape, he was shouting stuff, but it wasn't very loud and I couldn't hear him.

Back on the tube we headed to a market. By now we were hungry and stopped by a pub for some fish and chips. This is a requirement every time I come to the UK. I don't even care much for fish, but I guess that most things taste ok when they are fried! Afterwards we wandered up to Coven Garden and watched a man juggle chain saws. Eventually we ended up at Waxy O'Connell's for some drinks.

We'd been walking around all day and decided to call it an early night. We said goodbye on the tube and I went back to the hostel and quickly fell asleep.

Back Again

Day 499
I was up early and quickly packed. After checking out I headed to the metro. I then got off at the wrong spot. Big surprise. Luckily the first person I asked for help spoke English and she told me where I needed to go. In no time I was on the bus to the airport.

After checking in I went thru immigration. After the pain in the ass of registering I really wanted to be given a hard time and to show that I had all my ducks in a row. I don't think that the guy even looked at my registrations. It was really upsetting.

My first flight was on time and I fell asleep before it even took off. When it landed in Copenhagen I went thru security again and then hung out at my next gate. We boarded on time but then sat on the runway for over two hours. By the time I got to London I was already 2.5 hours later than expected. I then about had a heart attack, the immigration line was ridiculously long and slow moving. Luckily after about an hour of waiting the nice American couple in front of me let me use their phone so that I could call Edward, who I had met in Hong Kong, to tell him that I would be late, very late for drinks.

The line was ridiculous. It took two hours. You couldn't go to the toilet, there wasn't any water, and sitting was impossible. Babies were crying and the elderly looked very uncomfortable. This is what Ellis Island must have looked like over 100 years ago. This is what you would expect out of a 3rd world country, not out of the UK. I understand if they want to check people more closely, but then they should have more than 4 people working at a time. It's just unreasonable to expect people to wait for so long. It was down right obscene. Eventually it was my turn and soon I was back in the UK.

As soon as I grabbed my bag I called Edward to tell him when I thought I would get to the bar. I then hopped on the expensive but way faster train (as opposed to the tube). I just didn't want to spend another 1.5 hours getting to my hostel. Plus, the longer the line took the more determined I became to be able to see a friendly face. Once I got off the tube (I had to switch) in Camden I couldn't find my hostel but I found Edward in the bar and he helped me look for it. After a quick change I headed right back out again.

We caught up over a few drinks, but pubs close early here and I didn't arrive until almost 11, I was meant to be there at 8! It was really nice to see Edward again after exchanging emails for the past two months. I was also extremely happy to be back in London.

Where She Goes, Nobody Knows

Day 259
My heart was beating quickly and I was out of breath when I took my seat on the plane. Instead of heading back to Bratislava as I had thought I would be doing this morning I was headed to Bangkok via Doha, Qatar. Even though I was the one who had made all of the choices I was still amazed and a bit confused about how it had all happened.

The night before I had mentioned to Katherine that I wanted to do something typical to London on my last morning. She suggested that we head out to an area called Highgate. There was a traditional pub there and a splendid view of London from a park.

We were there early and had to wait for the pub to open. We killed the time by popping into used bookstores and looking at the several small churches in the area. We both drooled over pastries we knew that we wouldn’t buy.

Lunch was fabulous, as we expected. We both got the fish and chips and had a pudding (dessert) to top it all off. Afterwards we walked around the small park and admired a wonderful view of London.

On the tube ride back to the flat I began to worry about getting back into the Schengen area. The Schengen visa zone incorporates pretty much all of Europe. Americans are allowed only 90 days in every 180 day period. I had clearly overstayed my welcome. Things like this aren’t typically noticed and it wouldn’t have been a concern at all if I was exiting Slovakia by train to the Ukraine as I had originally planned. Have the odd exit stamp from the airport though would probably raise suspicions, especially because they had problems with my passport on the way out. If I went there and there was a problem I would at best be put back on a plane out of there and at worst I would be banned from the Schengen area. I really didn’t want either to happen.

A few days ago, just for fun, I had looked up flights to Thailand. They were surprisingly cheap for last minute flights. When I got back to the flat I checked the visa info and bought the ticket. I had about an hour and a half to get a guidebook and snacks for the plane. I also had to repack my bag, Katherine was very kindly letting me keep my winter gear in London.

I said goodbye to everyone and basically ran for the tube. I was a bit shorter on time than I would have liked. Once I got to the airport I was informed that I needed to buy an exit ticket to go to Thailand. I was kinda expecting this. What I wasn’t expecting was having to pay cash for a ticket that could only be refunded in London.I know that I will be back here, I just wish I could have charged it and gotten my money back sooner. Plus, it’s a paper ticket. If it gets lost I’m screwed.

By the time I had the ticket and had checked in I knew I had to move fast. First though I had to change some money. There was no use carrying around Czech and Slovak money for the next several months. After security I looked at the flight board and saw that mine was on its last call. I ran all the way to the gate, I think it was as far away as possible. I just made it and collapsed into my seat. I was headed to Thailand!

No Laughing Matter

Day 258
Katherine had a class so I headed out on my own, but with plans to meet up with her later on.

I had been to the Museum of London before and remembered enjoying it quite a bit. I decided to go back and revisit it. Unfortunately they are completely redoing it so much of it was closed. It did, however, have a really good section on the 1666 fire in London that I didn’t remember at all. It was presented in the context of people, those that lost during the fire, and those that gained in rebuilding the city.

When I got out of the museum I found a bit of the London wall. Further down the road was the first Methodist Church and John Wesley’s house. I visited both about three years ago, but the pictures that I took were lost by Snapfish. Stupid snapfish. I didn’t really have time to go in so I simply took a picture of the outside and moved on.

I was a bit late meeting Katherine, I just underestimated how long it would take to get to Angel. We wandered around a bit and lamented that the shops were mostly closed on Mondays. We both managed to pick up a few things we needed though.

After some time debating we decided to go to a place close to her flat for dinner. This is the same place that she once saw Dumbledore eating. When we had finished we headed to a local pub and laughed at the drunks. Seriously, I overheard one guy say that his laugh annoyed him, the other said that his laugh annoyed him too so they should all laugh together. Weird.

Time to Wine

Day 257
I’m so lazy. I spent the morning watching tv and just laying around. It’s really terrible.

When Katherine returned we got out acts together and headed out to a French wine tasting. It was strange, but some of the most enthusiastic people were the Brits running French vineyards. One of the French guys very rudely told us to move away to make room for the paying customers. When we left we made a point of parading the several bottles of wine that Katherine bought in front of him.
Back at the flat we chatted with her roommates for some time before calling it a night.

Wanderings

Day 256
I was up early but spent some time chatting before getting a move on. My first stop was a pub that I used to eat lunch at on occasion. Unfortunately they no longer serve the sandwich that I liked best.

I then headed down the street to check out London Business School. This is where I would like to go in the future. I was expecting for there to be some sort of campus though. I don’t know why. Instead it was just a big building that looked just like all the other building around Regents Park.

The plan was to head down to Charing Cross road where there are several used book stores. I wasn’t paying attention to my route and before I knew it I was on Oxford Street. Oxford Street is just about as much fun as Times Square is. I was able to pick up a few Clinique things I needed though. When I finally had fought my way through to Charing Cross I did manage to find a few books at reasonable prices. What wasn’t reasonable was the cost of seeing the new Bond film in Leicester Square. Will I never learn?

That evening both Sara and Rebecca were busy. Rebecca was studying, but Sara was out and she lent me her computer for the evening. I have recently discovered how to watch tv over the internet and spent all evening catching up on Desperate Housewives.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Day 255
I woke up around ten and jumped in the shower. I also met Sara and Rebecca, Katherine’s roommates. Right from the beginning I really liked them both.

Katherine had to go home for the weekend so we set off before lunch time. After checking out some Eastend shops and picking up some much needed winter gear we grabbed lunch at a yummy chicken place. All too soon Katherine had to go and we both headed back to her place.

That evening I went out in search of some fish and chips with Sara and Rebecca. We didn’t have any luck and ended up getting a couple of appetizers and having some beers. Rebecca is American and was able to describe to me the turmoil that she had to go through in order to be able to study in London, as I would like to do some day. It doesn’t sound like fun, but still doable.

We weren’t out very late before we decided to call it a night.

Passport Frenzy

Day 254
Christine and I were up rather early and went to the same place for lunch as we had the day before. As I didn't really have anything pressing to visit in Vienna I decided to spend the day wandering the area with Christine and chatting.

We walked to the river and checked out the view from a few different bridges. When we found a pharmacy Christine helped me to stock up on some of the things that had begun to run low. Around this time she got a phone alarm reminding her about and appointment and had to run off pretty quickly. I went back to her apartment and packed my things before heading out.

I just my my bus to the Bratislava airport. I was finally cashing in on the special thing I bought for myself back in Prague, I was headed to London. The bus ride was fine, the chaos didn't begin until it was time to check in. When my bag was scanned they security guy made me pull out my deck of UNO cards and inspected them thoroughly. That was pretty weird. When it was time to go through immigration the first guy couldn't get my passport to do whatever it needed to do. The second person who tried had problems as well, but did eventually stamp it. I've sorta overstayed my welcome in the Schengen area and this was worrying me quite a bit.

During the flight I slept and really forgot all about the whole visa thing. I guess that this is why I wasn't prepared for the immigration woman at Stansted to start asking so many questions. I hadn't bothered to come up with half truth answers and was at a loss. I think she figured out that I had been in Schengen for too long, however, that is quite different from the UK. After about 15 minutes of questions she stamped me in. I ran down to the train, but was disappointed to see that I had missed it by three minutes.

I gave Katherine a call to tell her when I would be arriving. After finally getting on the train and getting to London just walking around the city was a treat. I love it here so much. I luckily managed to find Katherines flat with little effort and we chatted for a bit before calling it a night.

Laid Back London

Day 5
I was once again completely exhausted by the previous day and with only two other people in the dorm room it was very quiet, causing me to say in bed far longer than I normally would have.

I met up with Dave again and we had a fry up (I think that's what he called it). Basically an English breakfast while we contemplated what to do.

I wasn't much in a museum mood and we decided to just wander some of the more interesting sites of Central London. I had forgotten that St. Patrick's day was the following day and was surprised to see that there were outdoor concerts in both Leicester and Trafalgar Squares. This was all despite the slightly rainy day.

It was nice to have Dave around to take pictures of me in front of some major London monuments. We went to Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey and Parliament. London is such a great walking city, you don't need to really do anything to experience it.

I returned back to the hostel early to get my stuff together in preparation for my early morning bus to Portsmouth. This time I wasn't just doing a day trip, but I was moving on. London is still one of my favorite cities and I know that I will return again and again. I will also always remember to mind the gap!

A Pilgrimage

Day 4
I was once again up at stupid o'clock to catch the 7am bus to Canterbury. This time I didn't miss it. Luckily the bus arrived early and I had a few minutes to wander before any of the sites were open or the streets were crowded.

I had a couple of different reasons for visiting Canterbury. Like most I was on my own pilgrimage to see the Cathedral of Thomas Becket fame. But I had another reason for being here as well. During WWII the German army had a policy of bombing non-military targets. Canterbury was one of these targets and was decimated when 6,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on June 1, 1942. Most of the medieval city was lost, however many of the most important landmarks survived. In retaliation the British bombed Dresden, destroying 80% of the medieval city. Canterbury was able to rebuild in ways that Dresden was not.

Fast forward several decades. Dresden was rebuilding its famous Frauen Kirche that had been completely flattened. As Dresden's now sister-city Canterbury donated a replica of the cross that had been on the spire to the rebuilt church. I worked in Dresden for a summer 6 years ago and wanted to make sure that I had a chance to visit both of these cities. It's amazing and wonderful how peace and friendship have come out of war.

My first stop was the Canterbury Cathedral. The Cathedral became an important pilgrimage spot when in 1170 King Henry II wanted some one to get rid of a mettlesome priest, Thomas Becket. Becket was killed while at prayer in the cathedral. You can go and stand on the area that he was murdered in. However, his shrine was torn down by Henry VIII in the 1500's.

Many other notables including the Black Prince and King Henry IV were also buried here. It was a bit like Westminster Abbey, just on a smaller scale. I was also able to take pictures here so I just went to town.

The crypt was really quite amazing. Some of the original bits that dated back to 597 could be seen here. The cathedral as it looks today was built between 1070 - 1077. Bits and pieces have been added and taken away, however the structure is essentially the same.

The cathedral alone is reason to come to Canterbury, but there are lots of other sites to check out. They are also all very small and located very close to one another.

My next stop was the Westgate Towers Museum. This is one the most most interesting gatehouses remaining in England. The museum was quite small but it was interesting and the person working there was very kind. As I was the only visitor he game me a personalized tour of the place. For only a 75p entrance fee it was a great deal. There were displays from the entire length of the towers history. There were bits of WWII shells, armor from the 16th century and the chance to make your own brass rubbing's. One of the more interesting pieces was the murder hole. It was a rather large hole in the floor that was used to dump hot oil on invaders who were below the tower. Up the spiral staircase was a nice view of the cathedral. It was really 75p well spent.

After lunch I was asked if I would take part in another survey, this one about batteries. After an exhausting 15 minutes of work I had earned a £2 voucher to Boots (like CVS) and was in desperate need of a vacation. Oh, wait, this is a vacation!

I was shocked at how early it still was a this point. Everything in this city is very small and very close together. That must be the reason. So I set off on my next task, I wanted to check out Canterbury Castle. Its located at the end of a really pretty walk around the medieval city walls. It was built around 1100 and is in ruin. There really wasn't much to see there.

The next small museum I visited was the Roman museum. Somehow I managed to walk through the whole thing backwards. The museum told the story of how Roman Canterbury may have looked. After the WWII bombings a large Roman house had been discovered, proving that Canterbury had been a much larger Roman town than had originally been thought. They discussed not only what the town would have looked like, but also the efforts put into finding and preserving the history. There was a picture of a young Queen Elizabeth with her parents checking out the newly discovered site. Just as I was about to leave a huge group of French kids came in. Great timing!

By the time I had finished this it was time to catch my bus back to London. I had an 8 pm Bootsnall meet up to attend.

It had begun to pour by the time Dave, Stu and myself were sipping pints at the World's End pub in Camden. We tried fruitlessly to find a place where we could actually hear each others conversation. Despite constant "huh, what did you say" we still managed to have a great time.

Old Paper and Dead Bodies

Day 3
After my exhausting day in Dover I decided to be lazy and just hit a couple of low key sites in London. I started off by updating my blog in a nearby Internet cafe. With that done I had a quick lunch at McDonald's (gasp!) and headed to the British Library.

The idea of having a British Library separate from other institutions did not originate until the 1980's. Prior to that most of the libraries collection was house at the British Museum. The building itself is pretty interesting. A locked glass room holding thousands of very old books ran through several different floors. The real reason for coming here isn't to look at the books, but to check out some of the libraries most interesting pieces.

These included a copy of Beowulf in Old English, short stories written by Jane Austin, original music by Mozart, handwritten lines by the Beatles and royal diaries. One of the most peculiar pieces was Lenin's application to be allowed to study in the British Museum. He applied under a false name. There were dozens of letters from Darwin, Florence Nightengale and other British notables. Most of the handwriting was impossible to read.

By far the most interesting piece is the 1215 Magna Carta. This is one of three original copies. This was interestingly originally housed at Dover Castle.

There wasn't much else to check out at the library so I headed to University College London.

Jeremy Bentham was one of the original investors in the school. Benthem is known for a plethora of innovative ideas as well as for inventing the word international. When he died he dedicated his body to science and after dissection his friends decided to stuff him and put him in a case so that he would never need to leave the college the he loved so much. He's not so much stuffed as his bones were sent in a wax effigy of him. They even used his actual clothing and some personal items to decorate the box. His skull used to sit at his feet, however after it was stolen and then recovered from a rival university it was decided to keep the skull in the university vaults. I'd wanted to visit Jeremy for quite a while now, and I'm glad that I finally got to meet him.

Frustratingly there were not any plugs in my room and I had to sit out in the hallway for quite a while to charge my ipod and camera.

I ended up ending the day by hanging out in the hostel with some Canadian theater students where were in the same room as I was.

It was a very low key day, but a good one.

Visiting Two Old Friends

Day 1After a roller coaster landing the plane finally touched down and I managed to keep my breakfast down as well. In no time I was thru immigration. I had to stop at the National Express counter to pick up my Brit Explorer pass for later in this trip. That wouldn't really be worth mentioning, however the person next to me was trying to pay for his ticket with a picture frame. It was quite odd.

When you land at Gatwick you have two options for getting to London, the fast expensive train, or the slow cheap bus. I took the bus. The ride was about 3 hours long. My advice would be to suck it up and take the train, it's not fun to spend 3 hours on a bus after a 7 hour flight and a 7 hour layover.

I ended up walking to try and save some cash. With my jet lag and the weight of my bags distracting me I managed to get myself quite lost. Despite getting lost and the long bus ride I had found the hostel and was ready to hit the town around 10 am.

I've spent a decent amount of time in London and have some favorites that I like to visit right upon arriving. My first stop was Westminster Abbey and Parliament. I had no plans to go in Westminster Abbey, and managed to just take pictures. But just seeing that building helped the reality set in.

After walking on the south side of the Thames for a bit I was famished and wanted some typical British fare. I walked into the first pub I saw and was quite disappointed to see that most of the food was Thai and the English food selection didn't include fish and chips. I was too tired and footsore to find someplace else though.

My first real attraction was St. Paul's Cathedral. This is really the only major attraction in London that I haven't been to. Well, that's not true, I was here during a service once, but it wasn't possible to walk around. St. Paul's was designed by Christopher Wren to replace a much older church that had not survived the 1666 fire. Wren rebuilt many building throughout London, but this was his masterpiece, and it is stunning. The domed ceilings had me looking up most of the time causing me to bump into people left and right. The alter was breathtaking and the funerary sculpture was superb. The entire experience was enhanced by the practicing orchestra and opera singer.

One of the highlights is walking up to the Whispering Gallery. To get there you have to go up about 150 steps. Luckily it's not a straight shot and there are several long corridors to catch your breath in. One of these still had scars from a 1940 bombing by the Nazi's. The Whispering Gallery gives a close up view of the dome. You are also meant to whisper to someone and the sound carries to the other side. However, it was full of French students and that wasn't possible. I also didn't have anyone to whisper to.

119 steps further up is the Stone Gallery. This offered a panoramic view of London. I had a great time taking pictures to prove that I had made it up all of the steps. The only problem was that the wind was so strong I thought I might blow away. It was a bit scary.

After a spiral climb back down I checked out the crypts. I vaguely recognized several names of the people buried there. The most notable was Florence Nightingale. Unfortunately I was not able to take pictures, but at least I have memories.

I really loved St. Paul's and am glad that I finally got there. But Westminster Abbey will remain my favorite.

In the movie Closer Jude Law and Natalie Portman spend some time in a place called Postman's park. While there they look at the memorials to those who died while saving others lives. It's a very Victorian monument. I had been to see it before, but Snapfish kindly lost all of my pictures of the event. So I headed back to reshoot them. I was once again shocked to see how many of the plagues were for kids.

After Postman's Park I had to hurry back to the hostel to officially check in. I had plans with an old friend. Almost two years ago I met British Dave in New York at the beginning of his round the world trip. His trip is over now (he even has a job!) and he is in London. It seemed fitting that we would meet up on the first day of my round the world.

We ended up meeting some of his friends in Kensington for a Pub Quiz. We didn't win the quiz (or the £70 pot) but it was a blast catching up with Dave. I will definitely need to see more of him while I am here.

The first day of the rest of my life was truly a day to remember!