London, England

Blergh. For as much sleep as I got, I may as well have gone on the pub crawl. Finally made it to bed around 23;00 after being delayed by a topless girl in the room (why would you leave the door cracked open when you're changing)--who, for better or worse, was facing the other way--and somebody in the bathroom. Then one of the other guests barged into the room around 01:00, closed one of the windows (to block the noise of the people talking/laughing outside?)... and then walked back out.

Sadly, after getting up way earlier than I had to, I still almost missed my bus. I successfully navigated the streets (which impressed me after yesterday) and tubes to get to Victoria station over an hour before departure. I found myself a seat & got some Krispy Kremes for breakfast, then read & rested until about 08:30. AFter misreading the signs a couple times, I finally discovered that the coach station is two blocks from the rest of the train/bus/tube station. After a bit of jogging & a quick bathroom break, I made it to the bus just as they started boarding. Winner!

Random Thoughts on London:

• I'm ready to move on, but I'll miss the city. I love all the random statues & miniature parks (although most of them are bigger than either park in Waterville). Some day when I've got more money I'll have to come back & spend a full week or two here.
• There isn't much of a happy medium when it comes to dressing here. Most people are either in suits/skirts/slacks or some sort of emo/metro/gay outfit... very little of what I'd consider just casual.
• I'm sure I had more at some point; maybe I'll remember them later.

I'm definitely looking forward to Edinburgh. It was one of my favorite stops last time I was here. Uncle Dave said he liked Stirling Castle even better than Edinburgh Castle, and since I've got an extra day in town (the hostel in Oban wasn't available yet), I'm going to try to make it down [ed: it's actually up] there.

15:40

Slowly but surely getting closer. Just stopped in Newcastle to drop some folks off, and luckily I think that's all we're doing from this point on... hooray for having my own set of seats again. Plus the cute blonde from the back moved up to the row across from me. Double win!

I'm having the hardest time not slipping into a horrible fake accent whenever I talk to somebody here. It has happened a few times, but so far I haven't gotten any funny looks, so I think I'll survive. Plus, it's not like I'll see any of these people again.