Let's Rewind for Some Details...

Ok, now that we've signed on for 40 minutes instead of 20 at the internet cafe I feel like I can delve in a little more to what we've done so far. London was a big city with lots of people and its only tangle of a subway system. Nothing like Paris' but still big and confusing in its own right. I liked the fact that it had way more soul than I thought it would have and that it was also very diverse. Everywhere we went there were many muliticultural couples and families... Our last two days there had great weather for visiting the city sites and shopping at the Waterloo flea market. We made great friends at the "extra-save" convenience store and the "nitis" beauty salon\internet shop, where the guy actually thanked me for continuing to give him business. I loved the fact that so many people have been so helpful and nice-especially in London, where for some reason I didn't expect it too much. The one thing that we couldn't get used to while there was the looking in the opposite direction when crossing the street. Though we knew we needed to look to the right and not the left it was always inevitable and our heads would turn left. I'm happy we made it out safely. We finished up our trip there with a Jack the Ripper tour. The tour guide was very experienced and his love for London and England came out in everything he told us. I learned way more about the murders than I ever wanted-like how he skinned their faces and sent body parts to the police-but it was great to get the real\known story from a London native and enthusiast. Beth and I are both VERY happy to have our last overnight\long train ride out of the way. We are thankful we got to see Paris but getting there and wearing the same clothes, brushing our teeth in small train bathrooms and pushing past people in the Paris subway left us ready for a new city and hostel! Since Iberia lost our packs we got them delivered to our London hostel and we didn't have to negotiate the train and subway system wtih them... this was good b-c we didn't have to carry all of the weight, bad b-c we didn't shower for 3 days (bad, bad predicament) and also bad b-c we were in for a rude awakening when we actually did have to navigate the subways and the trains. But we're definitely stronger for it-our shoulders, arms and legs are all feeling pretty worked out. Our packs are a bit, uh, big... Beth even got a comment from one of the Venician boatmen on the local waterboat... see the next entry for our story in Venice thus far.