"It's not as far as Taunton..."

London. The heart of a country Alex and I associate with some of our favorite people: Eddie Izzard, David Tennant, the Mighty Boosh, the cast of Top Gear, etc.

Day 1 involved the acclimation process.

Day 2 involved relaxing from jet lag and Day 1.

On Day 1 we arrived in the AM, and hopped a train from our airport to the nearest rail station in London. Our first host, who is incredible - a 'home away from home' incredible - was working all day, so we didn't plan to meet up with him until evening. We snagged some phones, had some McDonald's for lunch (because it should be on everyone's bucket list to eat McDonald's in as many countries as possible), and stopped at an internet cafe.

But we couldn't find lockers to stow our stuff, so we carried our BIG (and not exactly light) backpacks around all day.

Rule number 1 when traveling in a foreign country: Get used to looking like an idiot. No matter how well you may have that guidebook you read in your own country memorized, or how many British TV (excuse me, 'tele') shows you've watched and learned the culture from, you will still have to ask for directions, help, interpretations of signs, etc. When you have a giant backpack on, people know you don't live nearby. When packing, leave any pride you may feel inclined to carry with you at home. This is actually a good rule of thumb for life in general. Leave the pride at home, it only serves to alienate.

Fortunately, the British seem to be generally friendly when asked for help. We've gathered a fairly decent sample size with which to test such a hypothesis. By noon I had already asked more people than I could count for help on something, and had forgotten to be concerned about looking like a foreigner, tourist, American, or any other stereotype I may have hoped to avoid.

At one point, we realized we still had nearly 4 hours to kill before we met up with Nick. So we decided, "Unlimited rail travel, let's take the rail to someplace nearby, and have an adventure!" Fantastic. So we hopped a train to a nearby location, any nearby location. A mere 25 minutes later in Reading, we thought, "That was fun. Continue or head back?" The decision was made for us. We weren't quick enough to get off the train at Reading, so we were stuck to continue on. How far was the next stop? 90. Minutes. Away. Where did we end up? Taunton. Heard of it? Neither had we. Maybe it's great. I have no idea. By the time we got there, we were supposed to be meeting our first host. So now we've ridden the train for 2 accidental hours, and ended up in way West England. We wait for the next train heading back our way, and finally arrive to meet up with Nick at 9:00 PM. (After taking the rail for 4 hours, then having to hop on the Underground/Tube, and take a red double decker bus across a bridge to the square where Nick met us and we walked another 7 minutes to his house. All with our backpacks upon us.) Nick then took us to this delicious Italian place with incredible pizza, and the rest of the evening he thoroughly enjoyed describing distance in terms of, "It's not as far as Taunton..."

So today we relaxed from Day 1. Slept in, watched some tele and "Office Space", found a Dr Pepper when shopping for a toothbrush (you know we were stoked about that), caught a movie with our host and a friend, ate a burger (I promise we'll get something authentic and local eventually...), and took a late night car tour around London to check out the sights we'll go exploring tomorrow.

Tomorrow should prove stereotypically tourist-y; we've already mapped out a plan to see the sights. Thanks for reading, going with us, and praying for us. We, of course, miss you guys, and wish you could be here with us.