Day 3: London Comparisons

Early start with a shower and some delightful Alpen cereal. It seems to be ground grain and ground granola with some raisins. Orientation was roughly the lamest of possible events, and we five Swansea students were told we wouldn’t be able to do a homestay. Disappointment and boredom abounded, but lunch was good. The three girls of the Swansea 5 and I went to the Tube station and decided on a random stop. We picked Pimlico based solely on the name. There was a pub there, The Gallery, and we ate some paninis. They were fair, but the chips (fries) were the best I’ve had yet. The Greene King IPA was very very good. Though an India Pale Ale, it wasn’t nearly as bitter as I’ve had in past IPA’s. This particular cask ale had a very smooth mouthfeel and a subtle drying bitter finish, but it was delightful. We took the Tube back.
Walking around London, it is amazing how efficient it is. There are no real high-rise buildings or skyscrapers. The London Eye, the aforementioned Ferris Wheel seemed to be the highest. The Tube is heavily used and very crowded in the morning, but the next train comes in about 60 seconds. Navigating is very easy, especially since there is a tube station within 4 minutes walk of everywhere. The buildings are all very closely built and are usually old in appearance, which is very refreshing from Indianapolis or Chicago where everything is a rectangular prism, or some appeal to geometry. London takes style and design into account, and there is much less appeal to modernism, which I deeply appreciate. There are also far more walkers here, particularly with £10.5/litre gas. That is roughly $42 per gallon. And people complain about $3. Of course everyone drives cars the size of my family’s Suburban’s gas tank, so they are not consuming nearly as much as we do. Oh, and most of the police cars here are Mercedes-Benz. I thought it was ridiculous when Cicero’s finest began driving Dodge Chargers. I guess they save a lot not worrying about guns.