We arrived just fine and took a taxi to the hotel. Sometimes it is just not worth figuring out trains and metro rides, especially when you are very tired, and not thinking all that quickly. We spent the afternoon wandering around the hotel area which is one of the very nice areas in London. We are staying just across from Hyde Park, not far from Speaker's corner.
Our goal was to stay active, get some Vitamin D from the sunshine, and orient ourselves to the local area. After a nice supper (Chuck had sausage and mash--a very English meal), we wandered over to Hyde Park. There were hundreds of people in the park playing football (their version), and a variant of baseball. They were good at football, but dreadful at baseball. I never saw anyone get an out in the game and rarely was the ball caught cleanly. No gloves, a soft ball (even rubber sometime). The games were coed and even looked like groups gathering after work. Very strange game. But, they were having fun and what else counts.
London is a strange mix of buildings. You see old buildings and many modern buildings. My understanding is that this dissonance is the result of the bombing during WWII. Here is an example of an older building.
And an example of a modern building.
It is a little jarring as you walk around. Old, new, old, new.
Lots of tourists in town, and in our hotel, lots of very wealthy Arabs. In fact, we saw 3 young Arab men in a Rolls Royce convertible waiting in line for gas. And the local BMW dealer advertise an armored version.
