LONDON

And so it begins.

After 3 months of planning and a whirlwind week of packing and farewells, we're off on our year-long trip of a lifetime! Our first stop....London, England--a 2-day layover en route to Berlin.

London itself was great, but blimey expensive (yes, the Brits do say blimey). Powering through Jet lag and a bad hostel debut, we saw the Tower of London, Big Ben, London Bridge, etc. We went to an afternoon mass at Westminster Abbey, and ate most of our meals from Marks & Spencer on the banks of the Thames. On a whole, I think London was a fine place to start. The people--though a bit cranky--spoke English; the hostel--those asbestos-laden--was "safe"; and the beer--though mostly ale--was average.

London's 3 most overhyped? London's Bridge (it's the planest, most average bridge of them all), London's Eye (picture a 2-hour line of camera-toting asians with lots of time and money), and the Royal family (need we say more?)

Seriously, though, we are glad we went, and will probably go back at some point, with more time, more sleep, and more of an agenda.

Now, off to Berlin...