Checking in from London

First update from the Euro 2012 trip, here we go...


I've been in London since Monday night and have just loved it! I have eaten WAY too much food as I am surrounded by so many things I haven't eaten in a year (like Cinnabons!!!! - don't worry, I only indulged in one), and seen everything that was on my "must see" list, plus a little more. Unfortunately I've been fighting a wicked headache for most of this week, and I haven't figured out if it should be attributed to jetlag or general travel fatigue or some sort of impending illness. Please play for relief from that, if you think of it, as I am off to see Les Miserables shortly and all my attempts to rid myself of this thing have failed as of yet. Should be an interesting night, between the show and then a short night with a 3am wakeup call for the airport. What was I thinking? I was pretty proud of my supertraveller woman-esque packing for a month of travel into just my tiny Mary Poppins duffel bag, but I evidently haven't picked up the "convenience is worth the extra five bucks when you aren't in college anymore" tip. Oye.

So some of you know that I was entering this month with some apprehensions. I have no false illusions about the "romance" of being independent and travelling alone for a month. I've certainly done this before, and it may be invigorating but it is also just hard a lot of the time. Sometimes it can take a few days to get past the loneliness to embrace the adventuresome side of things. However, surprisingly, there has not been much of an adjustment necessary this trip so far. Perhaps it is because the surroundings feel a little "familiar" because of the language, or I've been thinking about this trip so long I am just well-prepared for it, or maybe as I travel more frequently, I am getting used to this - who knows? But whatever the reason, I have just enjoyed my time here and felt like my time was very relaxed and peaceful, without loneliness or hyper-awareness of singleness.

Oh yeah, there was one exception to the above. When I went to the Phantom of the Opera the other night, I sat down and the guy next to me would NOT stop staring. At first I thought he must be looking at the person next to me, but the thing is, the seats are really close to each other and it was pretty blatent. After about five minutes, I turned my face to look at him and check, and there he was, staring unabashedly at me, which prompted me to ask, "Do you have a problem or something?" His only response was, "Are you here alone?" YES, I AM here alone. I AM capable of going to see a show by myself. Gee whiz, I'm not twelve. What a wierd question!

So anyway, in the last three days, I have seen Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, British Museum, Phantom of the Opera, and a spattering of other things that I can't seem to think of just now. I've mastered the Tube and the Bus system, which is pretty fun, and managed to walk my way around the city mostly without a map today. I think the highlight of things I've seen was the Churchill War Rooms/Museum - by FAR the most AMAZING museum I have ever been to! REALLY remarkable. I have never seen anything like it. I hope all of you get a chance to go there someday. Really amazing exhibit design and interpretation - wonderful presentation of his life and very interactive. I felt inspired.

Side note about British men. Between you and me, this is the place to be if you want to meet someone. Wowzer. Maybe it is that I have been out of the plausable dating pool for a while, but it seems like nine out of ten of the guys here are attractive. It is definitely a high majority, anyway. Imagine this: Think the movie Notting Hill - when Hugh Grant goes to the hotel to meet her and there is that blond reporter who he stands with in the elevator and talks about the flowers with? Remember? Well, many of the men here look like that, only a bit more attractive, and then the rest are like dark haired rugby players or something. Anyway, a bit of a surprise. Although accents cover a multitude of disfigurements, don't they?

Well, I have to head to the theatre now, so that's all I can share, but hope you enjoyed my ramblings. I am off to Denmark tomorrow, and I'll try to check in after a couple days there.