i apologize if this isn't english

there was a period of time there where i almost felt that i was lying about having "traveling" as part of my blog name. fortunately, that time has passed because i write this from an internet cafe (paying for the internet makes me feel dirty) in england. rainy, dreary, foggy england.

its about six in the morning my time, so i am running on fumes. of course, there was not a wink of sleep to be had on the flight over. first of all, although it was a large plane, apparently it was not as large as was expected. evidently, 747's come in different sizes. and ours had fifty less seats than expected. which means that fifty people had to stay home (i am sure with a nice bribe...once, a friend was checking into a flight which was overbooked and they offered him $500.00 in air canada money). which also means that not a single seat was empty. lovely. i was seated beside a mom and son. they were french. and nice. and the kid was silent and slept most of the way. the people who were idiots were the swedish hockey team flying home. three of whom were in the row in front of us. now, i don't mean to make generalizations about a whole nation, however, it seems to me that there needs to be some airplane etiquette taught here: you don't recline your seat unless you are sleeping. this is the ONLY time it is permitted. why? because it makes the person behind you completely and totally uncomfortable. there is not much space to begin with and the recline takes away any sense of personal space that one was left with. now, the french lady with the little boy, at the beginning of the flight, asked me if i wanted to switch her for the window because she'd be getting up and down. i said, hell yes, because i ain't getting up and down. thing is, no sooner had we done that that jackass in front of her (in my original seat) reclines. asshole. and, i think it was a broken seat, because it was a good three inches lower that the one beside it. (also reclined. damn swedes.) she actually complained to the stewardess, but really, her english was not great. so, being the ass i am, i took over. the stewardess refused to do anything because it was a "sleeper" flight. but the point was: it was still light out. the man was not sleeping. the seat was broken. i was pissed and i felt bad for her and i was just blown away that some people are complete idiots. the stewardess said that i would have to ask the man to move his chair myself. so i did. and he did. but last time i checked, it is okay for the stewards to make polite iquiry's on their patrons behalves. now i remember why i hate flying so much. but, after all that, i think i feel better.

the rest of the flights was pretty uneventful. some movies, some food, and then i was here. of course, the hotel, which said it would do its best to get us a room early, had nothing. so, i am wandering around. without a map. in a city i don't really remember because the last time i was here was four years ago. holy moly. so i grabbed some breakfast (i can never remember where to tip and where not to...britain? tipping? yes/no? i left a pound just in case...). i passed a library (always a welcome place for vagabonds such as myself to spend time without molestation) but it doesn't open till eleven. it seems i picked the wrong day of the week to show up in london.

i think i just felt the room move. am i still on the plane?

i am certainly needing some sleep right now.

i will say though, wandering around trafalgar square, around charing cross road, well, i just love london. still and forever, it will remain my favourite city. i cannot wait to walk around with my mom this time (last time it was just dad and me, and i was left mostly to my own devices because he was working). there are some great places that i cannot wait to see again. and i am sure that there are so many new places yet to be explored.

i'll post some pictures later...