Bonafide London tourist

So yesterday was all about travel, seeing my friend from high school and trying to cope with my jet lag. Today was all about touring London and seeing the sights. I bought a bus tour ticket and went all around Central London. I was able to see so many fantastic sights and am looking forward to going back to see more later this week.

This morning I treated myself to an English breakfast buffet...which was pretty much the same thing as an American breakfast buffet except for a few unidentified objects - namely some charred black sausage patty looking thing. Otherwise all was good.

I got to know the London tube system better today. Unfortunately on my way to the bus tour, parts of the tube were shut down so I had to figure out alternative methods to get to my destination. But all's well that ends well. My bus tour began in Picadilly Circus. My colleague told me to visit there and I asked him what was there and he said theatres, shops, and restaurants. I was thinking to myself that it didn't sound very unique and had pretty much written it off of my list of things to do in London. But it was absolutely fantastic!! That area of London is so thriving and upbeat. It would be really great if I could get in a show while here but I doubt that I will find enough time. But let's see...

On my bus tour, I saw all of the major attractions of London... Trafalger Square, Buckingham Palace (although we weren't able to get too close), Hyde Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern Exhibit, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, River Thames, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Oooh, I got to see where Margaret Thatcher and J.K. Rowlings live. Mind you, all of this was seen from the upper portion of my bus. But it was a great introduction to London and to some of the sights that I would like to go back and visit.

However, I did go on the London Eye today. It was pretty fantastic. It's a great way to get a 360 degree view of all of London. There is an introductory video that boasts about being 4D. I was thinking to myself, what the heck is 4D? What more can they add? During the video, they blow bubbles, snow flakes and spray you with water. I was unprepared for that. :-)

So I have to admit that I was a bad tourist and ate at McDonald's today. I realized I hadn't eaten in almost 6 hours and all of the sudden I started getting the shakes from low blood sugar. So I broke down and bought a chicken sandwich that I could quickly eat and then get real food later. However, I can safely report that the chicken sandwich in London tastes the same as it does in the U.S. and Canada.

Oh guess what... there used to be a Republic of Texas Embassy here in London before Texas became part of the U.S. Now they have a Texas Embassy restaurant in its place. I also saw the Canadian Embassy with its flag flying high. Pictures of both places to be posted soon.

There's a lot more to discuss but it's my bed time and tomorrow starts the work (the whole reason why I'm here). But I will make sure to post more later...and pics as well.