First day in London

We're in London today after a long and tiring bus & ferry trip from Dublin overnight.  The money system changed over to Sterling (pounds) when we crossed the Irish Sea and arrived in England.  It goes back to Euros when we arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

In both Ireland and England it seems to me we've been paying about the same number of Euros/Pounds as we'd be spending dollars for similar items, but we're having to pay between $1.65 to buy one pound and $1.46 to buy one Euro.  Both countries are undergoing some of the financial strains as the U.S. (and for the same reasons), but Ireland is suffering more from it.

I walked to the Apple Store on Regent St. today, raising a further blister on my right foot, in hopes of getting a replacement for a key cap that broke just before I left.  They didn't have it though.  Luckily the key itself is OK and I'll survive with it this way until I get back.

We're staying right near Piccadilly Circus (which, as I'm sure everyone knows, isn't a real circus but a square with a fountain of winged Eros in the center (film at 11).  It's kind of like Times Sq. in New York, with flashing electric signs on many of the buildings.

We watched a portion of the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace today.  Cam has the photos and will probably write about the event today or tomorrow.

We talked about taking a bus tour tomorrow, as that's usually the best way to spot where the interesting bits are and to learn some of the history and sense of a place (shades of the little Conch train.)

Ate Chinese food in Chinatown tonight, then walked a bit to help digest dinner.  We went to Soho, an area that I walked in 50 years ago while here on a Navy shore leave, but I didn't see anything that I remembered much from then.

The hostel we're staying at for two nights is not as nice as some others we've seen, but it's pretty well-situated, not too far from many things of interest, and the price wasn't so bad for a downtown hostel in a big city.  They even have a Facebook page.