My Jilly Lies Over the Ocean...

"Well, when you're down on your luck, and you ain't got a buck, in London you're a goner."- Jimmy Buffett "London Homesick Blues"

Today I spent about 20pound just on transportation in/around/out of London. But where I felt I wasted money, I also managed to save, believe it or not. My dinner for 1 at Piazza (some fake Italian restaurant near Covent Garden) was only 10pound. And it was actually good! Covent Garden was by-far the highlight of my day. That's not saying a lot, considering it was the only place I was actually able to visit. But after 2 hours in a small, hot room, setting up my bank account with about a dozen Australians and New Zealanders (Aussies and Kiwis, I believe) I was ready to get out and actually see London. So, at the advise of my co-workers, Covent Garden it was.
On the short walk from the bank meeting to the garden, I was able to ponder (is that a British word? Sounds like it) topics that had confused me all day on Thursday. A) The Aussie girl I work with kept telling me it's "bitterly cold" in London "at least -1'." I'm smart enough to know the -1 was in Celsius and just below 32'F. But when I walked around London, it really wasn't that cold. So, when I got back to the pub, I asked the Aussie where in Australia she's from. "Just outside Melbourne. The coldest it gets is 8'." That explains why she said it was so cold she couldn't breathe. I think maybe there should be a reality TV show that gives away $1 million to the first Aussie that can stand 20 minutes in a midwestern winter day. B) On the topic of Aussies/Kiwis;they're everywhere! On the underground, I kind of felt like maybe I flew to the wrong country and somehow ended up in Oceania. My new game on the tube is "spot the Aussie/Kiwi" It's really easy. They're usually the one's that think it's way too cold to live. And C) People drink a lot here. Probably about as much as a 19 year old Frat boy in Kansas. But they don't get out of hand. They just start talking really loud and laughing at everything, even at the lack of Cider (an alcoholic drink that is like Apple Cider, but for those legal to drink) in America. I tried one and it is actually a good drink. "A dangerous booger," said the local Baldy Paul. He's bald, hence the nickname.
The only other thing I did today was see Parliament and the London Eye. It was night, so everything was lit up and Shops had Christmas lights everywhere. My take on London: so far, just that there are tons of people. It's really a nice place. It's kind of like Chicago, but with less homeless people and, well, 6 million more people.

Oh, and a note about Jet-lag: it's kind of like a bad hangover, but you remember everything that happened the night before; you flew a total of 8 hours, watched the in-flight movie "The Sound of Music", midway through the headphones breaking so you repeated each line in your head (because you're crazy like that) and then you didn't sleep at all, because the jerk behind you was poking your chair.

But don't worry, I'm over it. Especially after I found out they're filming the last Harry Potter film down the street. Literally, down the street. I can see Hagrad's house! Maybe I will meet Ron Weasley...

xo's,
jill