London - Origins of America?

It was a long trip from Austin. I had to transfer twice, once is Minneapolis and another in Amsterdam. I was fortunate that my flight was early enough to avoid the volcano eruption in Iceland. If I had taken a later flight, I would have been delayed in Amsterdam. My friend George was planning to come this weekend for a corporate meeting, but the whole trip was canceled and rescheduled to May.

The pin on my Xootr bent and now it can't be used. I'm going to take it to a bike shop and perhaps they can fix it.

London has a very different feel than the rest of continental Europe. There's not as much of the detailed architecture that is typical in Paris, Germany, or Venice. The buildings here have a very rectangular, somewhat like in America, but with an "empire" feel to them.

The city has a very metropolitan feel. There are people from all over the world here and surprisingly, you hear other languages being spoken as much as English. I spent my first day here riding the subway (Underground) to Westminster and walking along the Thames River. I went to see Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, the Parliament Building and other sights along the river.

After such a long day of traveling, I didn't have much energy or spirit to do much more. I took a nap, rested, and spent time looking at the various local restaurants that range from. The English breakfast is a favorite of mine. For less than US$7, you get a hearty serving of sausages, ham, hash browns, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, and beans. It's enough to keep me going until well after lunch. You can also find Turkish food that is very good and reasonably priced.

I am here until Tuesday, then it is off to Latvia.