Day 4: Professional Pedestrian

I am now, for all intents and purposes, a professional pedestrian. This is no small feat, as walking around London is certainly something that you have to adjust to. People don't stay to the left or right, they just get by you any way they can. At first you try to be polite, but soon enough you realize it's every man for themselves, and how you get from A to B is dependent on how well you can navigate past people on the sidewalk.

You learn a few things walking around London as much as I have. For one, it takes roughly three days to instinctively look for cars to your right when crossing the street instead of to the left. For the first two days I was basically walking into intersections completely blind as to whether or not a car was about to turn me into a pedestrian pancake. I guess there's something to be said for 'blind luck'.

You also learn that Tube stops are entirely closer together than the maps would make it seem. After I got off at the Bayswater stop tonight I turned right instead of the normal left to look for a new place to eat dinner. I found a great pub (with free Wi-Fi!) about three blocks down, and sure enough there was the entrance to the Queensway tube station. It's an entire stop away from Bayswater, and yet it's only three blocks away. You have to wonder how they decided where to put these stops, and why three blocks was sufficient. But then, oh wait -- British weather. Nevermind.

Also, I've been all over England before, but you forget how funny the pub names are. Just a few near me:
The Daniel Gooch
The Leinster
The Leinster Arms (across the street from The Leinster)
The Perserverance
Guesthouse West
The Green Man (Kelly, are you reading this? GREEN MAN!)
The Slug and Lettuce
The Mad Bishop and Bear (paints a picture, doesn't it?)
The Cow
The Brazen Head
The Fettler and Firkin (Of course! Can you imagine a Fettler without a Firkin?)
Crockers Folly
The Archery Tavern (Arrows and Beer... great combination)
The Cock and Bottle (*snicker*)
And my favorite... The Monkey Puzzle

Final thought: Celtic just got their arses whooped by Manchester United. Todd Prom, you must be so proud!