Day 1 in London has been quite enjoyable.  The incredible amount of legroom I had on the plane was balanced by the fact that the seat barely reclined.

Upon arriving at Heathrow, police boarded the plane and escorted someone off.

My hotel, the Waverly House is about a block from Russell Square, which seems to be a good launching point for exploration.  My corner room has a nice view of the city as well.

O2 UK, the cell phone provider is making me feel right at home.  My iPhone is barely usable.  I cannot get over how expansive connectivity is.  Between the international data plan and a wifi hotspot plan for my laptop (which I might use for the iPhone as well) it's about $100 for the 6 days I'm here.  The wifi is painfully slow as well.

After a disco nap and shower I found a pub.  Everything I heard was true.  There are pubs on every corner, they are full of cask beers, and the food is reasonably priced.

Public transit has been easy to navigate.  Although one station, Holborn, was closed and evacuated for over-crowding.  I bought a 1-week Underground pass for about $30 USD.  Which reminds me that I need to stop thinking in terms of dollars.  These are Pounds, and are a bit for expensive.  Advice from Facebook was to multiply by 1.5.  Or even 2x, just to be safe.

On the advice of my high school theatre guru, I went to the West End and saw a show.  Leicester Square (which seems to be the same area as the West End) and nearby Covent Square are a rabbit warren of alleys, filled with unique one-off shops, cafes, and the occasional TGIFridays. And theatres.

I went to the equivalent of NYCs Times Square Ticket Booth and got discounted tickets for Enron. 

Before the play I had a very tasty cappuccino and chocolate/caramel bar at a cafe called Elis.

Apparently in the UK, businesses must be licensed to play music for their customers.  And I thought music copyright/performance issues were out of control in the U.S.

I took a quick stroll down a lane full of interesting galleries and bookstores, almost all of which were closed.  I hope I'll have time to go back a look around, especially at Tengu.  I definitely want to buy one of these little guys.

I found a very interesting candy store, Cyber Candy, that had about every sugar and caffiene-infused item imaginable.  Half of the store was stocked with Japanese items.  The picture of Homer Simpson in his underwear in the front window is classic.

On to the theatre.  Enron, playing at the West End's Noel Coward Theatre, is based on the events of the corporate scandal.  A lawyer, giving the opening monologue, explained what we see may or may not be true.  It is a dramatization after all.  The production started slow.  Enron contained a good bit of corporate America bashing.  The voice of reason come only from low-level employees, never from anyone in a position of authority.

While there were aspects of the production I feel feel short or relied too heavily on stereotypes, it is certainly a unique experiment, bringing financial scandal to the stage.

My review of the production will be a separate post.

That's all for today.  Jet lag or not, chia tea or not, it's time for sleep.  Tomorrow is vintage clothing day!