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Well, yesterday was just the perfect day. Starting with my trip to the museum, then back to the hostel for work, where my new broadband wireless card worked far better than I expected. For my dinner break I decided to be adventurous and just picked a random tube stop to find a restaurant. I ended up at an Indian Tapas place. The food was simply exquisite. Then back to the hostel to finish up the workday. After all that, I was debating whether to go back out, or to call it a night and get an early start today. I decided I’d go check out the hostel bar and see where things went. Well, a bunch of the other hostelers were on their way out to a Dub and Reggae show at a club, and invited me along. We took the tube to the very other end of the city (near London Bridge). The line took forever, but it was totally worth it. The show was great. The bass was so heavy you could feel it in your whole body. It hit the resonance frequency of my voicebox, which felt really bizarre.

I ordered some Ital Stew, which was delicious, although not as good as the Jamaican place in Brattleboro does. But it was microwaved behind a folding table in a club so what do you expect. Anyway it was yummy. And then I just danced all night with my friends from the hostel and all the other clubgoers. I wish I had pictures of the night but the whole thing was spur-of-the-moment and I didn’t have a chance to grab my camera. I’ll try and get some pictures of the various hostellers involved later on.

After I’d danced myself out, I took off and walked back to the Tube, which was closed, not surprisingly since it was around 3 AM at that point. So I hired a cab and got a great winding ride all the way from southeast to northwest London, with the cabbie interjecting comments about the various sights.

All right, daylight is burning – I’m off to see the touristy stuff today – Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, etc.

Today I finally made it into London proper, saw the Thames and went to Tate Modern to check out some art.

Of the ones I saw, I particularly liked these pieces (among many wonderful ones):
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Like I always do when I’m anywhere except Brattleboro, I’ve been sketching quite a bit. Here are some of the better ones (where the people I was drawing held still for a decent length of time)

Aboard the Gatwick Express 01 31 09

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Saw an amusing sign today. Oh, the Britsh and their odd terminology.

I assumed, logically, that it was a warning that there’s a combination crosswalk and speedbump coming up. But I was proved wrong a moment later…

Tonight, in an effort to feel less yecchy after my journey, I went in search of vegetarian fare.  I was looking for a place called Core restaurant which got good reviews online.  I wandered up and down various streets near the Edgware Rd. tube station until I noticed a discrete sign saying “Core” that I’d walked past like 50 times.  Unfortunately it was closed by that point.  Fortunately, I found a nearby middle eastern restaurant and had a delicious tomato soup and veggie salad.  The people working there all spoke French – not sure what nationality they were.  The big Football (Soccer to you Yanks) game was on Telly, with French commentary.  Game was between Manchester United and some other team.  The guys in the shop were obviously Manchester fans.  During the 45 min or so I was there, one goal was scored by Manchester, which for Soccer is the equivalent of seeing Halley’s Comet appear.

Well, I made it!  Somehow managed to get from Brattleboro to London.  I’ve got videos and a couple sketches to post but I’ve been travelling for a long time and I’m beat – look for them tomorrow.  Right now please enjoy this sattelite image of my current position, taken by the giant space laser which is tracking my movements.

This is the Palmer’s Lodge Hostel, the single finest hostel I’ve stayed in, and I’ve stayed in a few.

Here I am, just after enjoying a cheap but effective Chinese dinner at Logan Airport, marvelling at a mural that shows just how far I will be travelling tonight.

Where in the world am I? See for yourself: