A Brilliant Arrival

I know you've all been anxious to know whether or not Anna and I were able to take advantage of all of the wonderful movies available to us on our flight over to London ("Glitter", "Hellraiser 5", etc.) Sadly enough, we were not (I know, a waste of a flight). Since it was an overnight flight, we slept most of the way over (at least, Anna did - I tried but was not very successful). Most people did the same. Consequently, the flight was very quiet (no screaming children) and rather pleasant. Unlike most other 11-hour flights, this one seemed quite short. We're not really feeling the distance yet of just how far we are from home. And since we're in a country of English speakers with a somewhat familiar culture, we also don't feel like foreigners just yet (I'm sure that will change in France and Italy). Let me just say for the record, though, that London has a very distinct way of welcoming you and letting you know you're a visitor after all. All over this beautiful city, there are acres and acres of gorgeous park land. You can stroll past quaint little shops and restaurants right into a park across the street, and on into gardens along the riverbank. Scattered throughout the miles of grassland are brightly colored chairs, grouped together in twos. On Friday afternoon, after Anna and I had wandered through the streets of London for awhile, we found two inviting chairs that promised some ease of our (my) jetlag. We sat down with a picnic lunch, looking out at the river and not quite believing we were in London. Not fifteen minutes later, a man comes over and tells us we owe money for sitting in these chairs. I didn't believe him and asked where the charge was posted. He pointed to a tiny sign far off in the distance, hidden behind low-hanging branches from the forest of trees surrounding it. Stunned and not being sure of the customs in another country for this sort of thing, we handed over the money. Wanting to get full use out of these chairs we had just rented for two hours, we talked and rested for awhile, watching the people of London go by. In order to save you the expense the next time you're in London, I'll be posting a picture of these ubiquitous chairs (not sure when, am having trouble finding internet cafes from which to download pictures). And I had just been thinking, right as we spotted these chairs, "Oh, how nice that the city of London provides chairs for its people to sit in. Those high taxes you hear about in Europe are apparently good for something." Evidently not so - be forewarned about anything that looks too good to be true. . .

Aside from this slightly embarrassing episode, our time here in London has been wonderful so far. We are staying with cousins of Anna's, a wonderful young family with four children, and they are graciously allowing us to use their home as a base for our travels around London. I am already enjoying this city tremendously; there is something about it that is immediately appealing to me. It is a huge city with plenty going on; but there is also something calm and elegant about it. The old buildings are beautiful, with so many charming little stores and restaurants in between. There is so much greenery in this city, and with the Thames River running through it, you have the makings for a very lovely city indeed. We found the Old Globe theater yesterday and will be seeing "The Merchant of Venice" tomorrow night. We've walked through many of the little neighborhoods, eaten in pubs, and had lots of conversations with authentic Englishmen. I'm about to get kicked off the internet, so I'll post more later. Suffice it to say that I am thrilled to be here and am excited about everything else to come.