June 28-29: "London and all its diversions"

June 28-29: "London and all its diversions" Still not acclimated to the time change. We keep going to bed late and getting up late. It was afternoon before we got into London to visit some of the sites. One thing I must say about the public transportation system is that it is very clean, safe, and comprehensive. There's no trash on the trains. They are well lighted as well. Even late at night it's safe because we see young people, families, etc riding them. Of course we have noticed that one reason is so safe is because there are security cameras EVERYWHERE ! In the subway, on the streets, in the shops, "Big Brother" is watching. This would not go over in the U.S. We would see it as a violation of our privacy instead of a way to be kept safe. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I mean if you're not doing anything wrong, what's the problem, right? I just think it's a little creepy that you're always being watched. We went to the Tower of London, and walked along the Thames River. At one point it began to rain and we decided to go to the museum of modern art. Although I'm not much of a contemporary art person, I did enjoy looking at some of the items and trying to figure out what may have been going through the mind of the artist. On a different note is been trying to get in touch with Rachael for several days by using Skype. I was finally able to reach her and it really warmed my heart. Despite having Tim here, I miss my Rachie-Roo. On the river walk area there were shops and booths set up celebrating the Love Festival which was inspired by the Gay Marriage Act being passed. The message was to celebrate all types of love. It seems that people here in London get along well regardless of their differences. We had a late lunch at a Greek restaurant which was really good. Unfortunately I'm beginning to see how expensive everything is here. Our dollar is worth only about %65 of a pound, making us extra cautious as to the things we are doing. While we wanted to ride the London Eye, we decided to do it at the end of our trip instead of now, that's if we can afford it. It's about (20 £) $35 each. On Sunday many things were closed as far as monuments and such so we went into down town London. It was VERY MUCH like Manhattan with large, fancy shops, clubs and restaurants. We went back to the hotel relatively early and got packed and ready as we were leaving in the morning for the Southwest coast. We decided to try using a service called Air B&B which is a system where people rent out rooms in their homes. like couch surfing only you pay to stay there. It's much less expensive than hotels. We are scheduled to stay with a lady in a small town named Witherage. This will be our base for a few days while we explore the surrounding area. Pictures can be found at: https://plus.google.com/photos/104423898538711271791/albums/6030510710932785617?authkey=CNuzhdKqx_WeSgn