"Third Eye Blind", Third Eye Blind, Track 10

Oh, man, I am tired.

About to enter the circus that is London

London is amazing. There are so many people everywhere, and despite the impressive diversity of color and culture, one thing unites us all--spending money.

There are cash machines everywhere, and there are lines outside of most of them at all times. People are shopping, eating, and being entertained as far as the eye can see. It's exciting, and gives a visitor a definite buzz; however, I don't think I could take living here.

Can you see me amongst the throng?

Started out the day in Leicester Square, where I met Angela and Derek and went for a walk. We wandered around for a while, then headed towards the London Eye.

The London Eye is the newest London landmark--it's the largest ferris wheel in the world, and has a fascinating system that lets each car, shaped like a bubble, rotate to stay upright as it turns around continuously, going slow enough to load passengers on the fly.

The Eye

However, Angela decided that I should see the Bourough Market instead, and so we walked along the Thames for about half an hour, passing the Tate Modern museum and the Globe Theatre, among other things.

Angela holding onto the spider at the Tate Modern

In front of The Globe

At the Market, I was overwhelmed by smells. It's a sprawling semi-outdoor market with vendors from all over the place. I eventually decided on a Grecian lamb wrap for lunch, along with a few Turkish Delight candies. After that, we decided to meet up with Angela and Derek's friends and do the London Eye after that.

Borough Market

A metaphor for the whole trip--look at me bite into that delicious life experience...

To get to the pub, we had to walk through the Camden Lock, which is a fascinating place. It was packed with people, and the stores overflowed with people buying everything from t-shirts to tattoos to bongs. It was a cool, if somewhat overwhelming thing to see.

After the pub it was time to go back to the Eye, and by the time I got my £15 ticket and got onboard, it was rapidly becoming nighttime. This made for a great experience, actually, as I got to see London illuminated for the night below me. The Eye was absolutely incredible up close, and I highly recommend it for anyone going to London.

Almost at the top

Parliament at night

Then it was time to meet Angela and Derek for dinner with their friends, and I navigated a maze of public transportation to get well into the suburbs to have dinner at a Jamaican place. It was great to meet their friends--everyone was engaging and interested in my trip, and I had a good time talking to them. After dinner we got a drink at a pub, but after a while I started drooping, so it was time to get a bus back to the hostel.

Dinner at "Jerkmaica"

On that bus, however, a guy with a drum decided to start playing for some drunk Londoners, and he really didn't have rhythm, but they all thought he did, so they were dancing in the bus and yelling and it would have been crazy and cool if the guy wasn't playing so horrendously...

It was a great day in London, and I'm off to Leeds tomorrow. I'm going straight to bed.

In the London neighborhood of Angel, assuming my rightful position.