Oh yes. It was amazing. I loved every minute of it. It was a great nights sleep… Sure, I slept a bit on the plane, but in and out as we all do. But today I was up and ready to go. London. Wow, I can’t believe I’m here, but I am, so time to explore.

First to forage for food. Well just around the corner was MA. Free range eggs, organic ingredients and a menu that changes daily. Sounded good to us. Now I don’t remember what the name of this dish was, but it had a small potato ball, mushrooms, fresh braised tomatoes, two medium eggs and baked beans topped off with a couple of veggie sausages. It was terrific. If I didn’t want to explore, I’d have it again tomorrow, but there’s another place that has a sign that says, “Brillient Breakfast.” It’s only open for breakfast and lunch, so I think I’m there in the morning.

We asked our waitress, “Which stop do we take, once we get on the tube (subway), to go to downtown to see all the cool sites?” She laughed and said, “You are in downtown. If you get on the tube, you will spend four pounds to the next stop that’s about a 10 minute walk.” (Lesson one, get a map before you ask really stupid questions unless you just want to entertain the locals.) But, as you know, I’m in the entertainment business, so what the hell, we started walking.

The energy here is amazing. Everything is majestic, historical and amazingly enough, pretty common place for the locals. I never thought about that part of it. People take the miricals of history, that I’ve only dreamed about seeing as just daily life. What an eye opener. I have to think on that for a while, but a very interesting discovery for me. Actually kind of life changing in a way. We passed the Eye, and train stations, streets, shops, the The River Thames, bridges, pubs and then we found the the London Duck Tours. Now we’re talking. A tour of London by an anphibious Duck boat.

So we jumped on and away we went. The palace, Big Ben, museums, gallery’s, a wonderful guide that knew everything about everything and presented it in a whacked out manor with that in the face British humor. After the land tour we pulled up to the River Thames, cruised down a ramp and splashed into the river. Off we go. Throwing us more facts and entertainment up river about a mile and then back to the ramp. It was a great tour and gave us a thumbnail view of what downtown is all about. Score!

Once off the boat/bus, we started the hike back to the flat stopping at a pub with the most incredible fish and chips with smashed peas I’ve ever had. What a great dinner. I’m not drinking alcohol at the moment, but Pat wanted to sample a local beer. She chose a lager. The bartender brought out three for her to taste. She chose one. He brought it to the table and I took a sip to make sure it was okay. Wow! Bummer of a time to be on the wagan. It was GREAT!

So a couple of doors down, was a store. Kind of like a 7-11 in the states, but more of a convince store. It had fruit, meats and general stuff for eating and drinking, but a lot of organic foods too. It seems to be the norm around here. How cool is that. The stores have real food and the restaurants serve real food too. People walk. Roads, with two lanes for bikes. People take public transportation and live very healthy lifestyles.

How cool is all of this. At first glance, London is a pretty fantastic place to me. I like it, a lot. But, it’s cool weather. I’d have to buy more long pants in shades of dark green, grays and blacks. I kind of stand out with my white cotten beach pants, a tee-shirt, boat shoes and a Schooner Warf Bar blue denim shirt. I think they know I’m a tourist. Of course I feel that way too when I visit Minnesota. I guess it’s just me.

Also, during this trip, I’m thinking about all the people, places, animals, property and lives that Hurricane Matthew is affecting. My heart, thoughts, love and wishes go out to everyone in his path. Be safe. Be blessed. Lot’s of work to do after this one. Dang!
So home we came, settled in for the night, checked email, blogged, told stories, ice Pete’s neck and now hitting the sack. Tomorrow is another day. Covent Gardens tomorrow and Davenport’s Magic Shop. Treasures to be found in people and places…

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Cheers!

Capt. Paul West

http://www.CellGrasp.com