London

This jetlag thing is bullshit. I slept pretty well last night (all ten hours of it). While I probably spent more of my day awake yesterday, it's officially my first day in Europe. I explored just about everything yesterday, but I didn't do anything in depth. First on the agenda, though, was to change to a different (and cheaper hostel). This one has more backpackers my age, a better energy, and is closer to Picadilly Circus. Once that was set and done, I still had about an hour before the changing of the guards. So I went to the National Gallery until the ceremony started. They have some amazing paintings there... very moving. The ceremony was actually a little boring and crowded. They have a band playing while they do it, and I caught one of the guards trying to keep from laughing while they were going through the motions.

I jumped on the tube and headed for the sights of downtown London. I asked another gentleman to take this picture of me once I had climbed all the way up St. Paul's Cathedral, which has some amazing artwork in its dome. The size of this building still amazes me as it dwarfs all the other builds that have popped up around it over the years. Once out of these, I walked down the Thames toward the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. To be perfectly honest, I was always under the impression that the Tower Bridge was called London Bridge, but, as I just found out, London Bridge is actually a four lane, rather bland, and contemporary bridge. It amazes me, though, that these structures are still here. Nothing in America is almost 1000 years old.

I crossed over the Tower Bridge and started walking up the other side of the Thames. I found an interesting sculpture of used electronic equipment. Apparently, Europe just passed legislation that requires electronics makers recycle their produces at the end of their usefulness (and just when the DVDs were making their piles in the landfills).

I hit up a bar with my roommate, Brian, that night and met a few girls. I laughed at one, Brianna, who, when I told her that I usually don't buy drinks for girls, almost immediate thought I was cheap. She missed the fact that I was telling her I refused to pay for her attention. As it turns out, though, she was from Canada and not far from Clarkson. I travelled half way around the world and met someone who once lived an hour away? Go figure.