Being tired won't stop me!

It's been an exciting and exhausting day. The plane trip was actually not too bad. The flight from Orlando to Atlanta was worse than the one from Atlanta to London-Gatwick. I was actually really lucky on the second half of my trip: I had a window seat with one other seat next to me. And that seat was empty the whole flight. Totally awesome. However, that does not mean that I got any sleep, as I had planned to. I'd drift off for a few minutes every so often, and I had a mask on my eyes most of the trip, but I was just unable to sleep.

So, all day today, I've put off my tiredness, with pretty good effect. It helps to be in London. Well, so I got off my plane and went through customs and everything. I go to buy my train ticket for the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. No prob. Takes a couple of minutes at best.

Then I go to take cash out of a machine. Not so easy. Turns out, I forgot to call WaMu before I left and their fraud protection put a temporary lock on my account. So, here I am, luckily with my ticket to London from the airport, and £15 to my name, 10 of which I use to buy a phone card. I figured I'd use it to call my bank and straighten things out. Except then I have problems with the payphone. So, I decided to just go to my hostel. I finally get there, easy to find from the station, and they have a simple phone. Yay! So, finally, I call WaMu and straighten everything out. I can now pay for my hostel and take cash out. Woohoo!

So, by now it's about 11am, local time, and check-in doesn't start until 2. They let me stow my big bag here until then, and then I'm off for the great unknown. Okay, I was actually off for the London Eye. I take a nice, long, rainy walk down Millway, along the Thames. Yes, big surprise, it's raining in London! The London Eye is pretty cool looking. It's right next to the County Hall and across the river from Parliament and St. Stephen's Tower(a.k.a. Big Ben).

I go ahead and book a River Cruise first. It's pleasant, and I'm tired. The guide is cute and funny, and not originally from around here, her accent tells me, but it was easy enough to understand. The boat was pretty empty, due to both the weather and the season I'd wager. After that, I finally get on the eye. It takes about a half-hour to complete the circle, and it was worth the money. It was a beautiful view of almost everything, despite the clouds and rain.

Right after that, I decide to check out the "Movieum". It's cute and I buy my first real souvenir, a picture of my with R2-D2 and C-3PO. Yes, that's right, Star Wars in London. The exhibit was to showcase and celebrate Britain's film industry, and its contributions. For instance, Star Wars was filmed at Elstree Studios in London, etc. It was cute and diverting, but I'm glad I got the 'concessionary'/student price. I did like seeing the Daleks from the "Dr. Who and the Daleks" movie, starring Peter Cushing. It's not Doctor Who canon, but it was neat to see some of the props. I'll see a lot more on Saturday when I go to the Doctor Who Exhibition at Earl's Court.

By this time, I'm dead on my feet. So, I go ahead and use the tube to get back to the hostel. I get back, check in, and pick a bed. The room is on the main floor, which is great, but my bed is on the top, which isn't as good, considering what a fidgety person I am when I'm trying to sleep. I sort through my stuff, rearranging what's in my daypack and my main pack, since it's not being decided by airport security anymore. Then I get my UK mobile number up and working and go for dinner. I decide on Pimlico Tandoori, down the road. I'd wanted to try British Indian food. It was good, if slightly too spicy for me. And, London is like NYC in that neither has many free refills at their restaurants. :(

So, now I'm here, making plans for the next few days. I'll probably head to bed soon, once it's actually dark outside. Tomorrow, I'll upload photos before I go do more exploring.