Arrival and first night in London

I arrived in London just fine, although 3 hours late. The flight was delayed mid-course because we had to stop in Winnipeg, Canada so an elderly passenger could be taken to a local hospital. He wasn't having a heart attack but it was something of similar magnitude. There were two doctors and a nurse on board, so at least while we were still in the air he was being taken care of properly. Mind you, I have absolutely no problem with making the stop or the delay; what frustrated me a bit was how long it took us to refuel and get back in the air (1.5 hours after the man was taken off the plane) and the fact that there wasn't really enough food (they didn't bring any more food on, which I understand, but that, combined with my crappy vegetarian breakfast - a cinnamon donut! meant that hungry Christie had to dip into her granola bar stash). Oh well. Once I was on the ground and was able to call John from another passenger's cell phone about the delay, I was just happy to be here and be on vacation!

I made it to John's house just fine, and within 1.5 hours of physically landing, which is excellent time. There were no customs checks (which was good, as I had brought double the meager 1 liter of hard liquor limit into the UK so John could have some special vodkas that cost 1/2 the price in the US as in the UK). I took the Heathrow Express train to London Paddington, and then the Tube to his station, Borough (just round the corner from the famous Borough Markets) on the Northern Line (I changed lines at Elephant and Castle, and keep thinking of the Club Quarters pub in downtown SF).

John and his roommate Kim spotted me out the window as I was standing in front of his building trying to remember which window to yell at, and there I was - I had made it! It was so nice to see John again, like no time had passed at all. I relaxed a bit, checked emails, and then we both got ready for dinner.

We went to Zakudia on the Thames river across from St. Paul and just down from the Millenium Bridge. If you look at the picture of the cosmo drink on the homepage, that was basically my view from our seat, although I was drinking French Mojitos - Polstar vodka Cointreau Chambord, fresh lime, and mint served over crushed ice. Zakudia had live music, and a great crowd - we got there just in time to score a table before the rush (yes, there is a Tuesday night rush). If you check out the menu, I had the Thai Chilli Beef Salad and a salmon dish that is different than the one online. It doesn't get dark until after 9pm, so we were able to enjoy the view throughout the meal. As we walked home around 10pm, I was appreciating the coat I borrowed from my friend kate (thanks Kate!) as it's still rather chilly here, and Paris looks to be about the same.

I was able to fall asleep at a normal time since I only slept about 4 hours on the plane, but alas, I woke up wide awake at 3:30am, and have been up and about since. At least I've had this opportunity to blog and I won't be rushed (although poor John wasn't amused with me rummaging around his room at 4am). It's also given me a chance to see that it's light here before 5am. Man, as much as the winters here are horrible for the constant darkness, this summer weather and daylight is great.

I'm off in about an hour to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. I haven't really worked out what I'm going to do on what day yet, so don't ask. You'll just have to hear about it later. Also, I'm not sure what the Internet situation will be like, or what my mood will be for blogging, but I'm assuming I'll stop in an Internet cafe at least once...or not. :)