Day one...

Well I got to London around 12.30 p.m. their time and then finally made it to the Grapevine Hotel. It is not too far from Victoria station but it is a bit hard to find if you follow the directions on the internet.

here's my little room. Apparently tomorrow I am moving to a bigger one as I am a long term guest. BUt this is little more than a closet, but it is fine for my needs. I do miss air conditioning though.

The tv only gets about 3 channels, I know i am not here to watch tv but without any real human contact I could get a little bored at night.

so I decided to go walking around and walked all the way to Buckingham palace. I have my older digital camera and it was getting a bit late so the pics may not be that impressive but I assure you the sights were.

The first of course is buckingham palace. The statue is a memorial to Queen Victoria. It is huge and spectacular. I then took a brisk walk through St. James Park. Very beautiful at dusk, wish Kristen was there, and came across a swan.

I rounded the corner and then came upon Big Ben and Parliament. At night lit up it was incredible. (Big Ben is actually the name of the Bell inside the tower and not the tower by the way)

I then rounded another corner and came upon Westminster Abbey. It almost surprised me. It was so beautiful at night I know the pics won't do it justice.

After wandering around a huge international city aimlessly and a bit overwhelmed by the beauty of the city especially at night. I then stopped by McDonald's at Victoria Shopping Centre and brought the Big Mac meal back to my room. It tasted so good.

Tomorrow I am going to the British library to try to start my research. It is so weird to be in another country by myself. I have talked to Kristen about 3X today Can't wait for her to come over. I hope that tomorrow goes well for me in terms of research. I am a bit pooped to be sure. But so excited to be here.

I did have to buy a new adapter but it works quite well with my laptop so that is good. I guess you should not buy it in the US. Will write more later.