Arrival in London

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Andrew and I woke to chilly rain in Brussels, but it soon passed. The weather was cool but sunny by the time we toured St. Michael's Cathedral and headed to the Grand Place, checking out shops and eating waffles. There was an even larger crowd of One Direction fans camped outside their hotel. Andrew bought a hat with the EU insignia to substitute for his lost OU hat. We also returned to the cafe from yesterday to get some coffee, and the same waitress was there. She recognized me and returned my Euro readers. Wish we could do the same for Andrew.

On the subway to the train station, two young women from Manchester approached us to ask if we knew where the stadium was for the One Direction concert. We did not, but we did tell them that we knew where they were staying. Andrew gallantly spent the trip sharing our map and trying to help these attractive young ladies locate their destination.

Unfortunately, we had to part ways so that Andrew and I could catch the Eurostar to London. The trip from Brussels was fun, in that we got to see the French countryside as we traveled toward the Channel Tunnel entry. The tunnel was just 20 minutes of darkness, then suddenly we were in England! Another half hour, and we were in the heart of London. We stopped at St. Pancras station, then caught the Picadilly Underground to Earl's Court, where we changed to the District Line to Kensington Olympia. Mostly it's just fun to say all of that.

We arrived at the Holland Inn Hotel in West Holland Gardens and checked into our "room." It's actually a windowless box with two cots. Fortunately, our plans mean we will spend very little time in our room. It really is a dump, but it is cheap (by London standards) and in a good location in a nice neighborhood.

Andrew and I roamed the nearby neighborhood of Shepherd's Bush (home of The Who), a mix of different ethnic groups and blue collar Brittons that is in the early stages of gentrification. We found a number of cool places, ultimately eating at an amazing middle eastern restaurant. The kebobs were great, but the thick, oven cooked pita was incredible. After that, we took a long walk through Kensington, full of fancy row houses and high end stores and restaurants. The weather is cool and cloudy -- just like London should be.

Have to admit that it is nice to be in a place that all spoken and written words are in English!

We take off tomorrow for sightseeing, so will have update you after that.

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