london, part one

Day two of the British invasion. So far, London's been quite lovely, though we can't seem to catch a break when it comes to travel.
Our flight out of JFK was delayed by more than two hours on Friday. Once we finally arrived at the flat, we were beat and took a nap, then made like tourists and set out for Picadilly Circus. Unfortunately, the tube near our place was shut down ("due to a customer action at Camden Town" — which we later heard meant removing a body from the tracks!), so we had to very quickly learn the buses.
Now, I've only once rode a bus in NYC, and the system here seems to be about three times as confusing. We finally figured out how to purchase a bus pass (not easy when the station's shut down) and which bus would take us sorta kinda near our destination, and got on. It was my first time on a famous double-decker, which had a certain charm, but once were seated and seemed to be headed in the right direction, the damn thing got stuck in traffic.
We finally gave up and hopped off to get on a different subway line, one not stalled by stray bodies on the tracks, which finally put us out in Oxford Circus.
Like good gays, we headed straight for Old Compton Street, which was quaint and full of tourists. After a fast loop around Picadilly, we headed back to Charing Cross and hit some bars before calling it a night.

Unfortunately, the tube closes at 12:30, and we had no idea how to get home. We hopped on a night bus and ended up back near Camden (I think), where a rather surly driver told us we were going in the wrong direction — but he had no idea where we should be going. Bloody hell. We hopped off and finally hailed a black cab home.


Today was more tourist stuff: the London Eye and a walk around Big Ben, Parliament (insert text message from Brad here) Covent Garden and finally a lovely dinner with my long lost friend Carrie, who's turned into a true Brit after almost a decade of living here.

I'm not sure if I'm jet-lagged or just hyped up from all the excitement but I'm now both exhausted and wide awake. Tomorrow: the Tower of London, some museum time and a bus tour. At this rate, I'd be fine if I never get on another bus again.