MY FIRST FEW DAYS

I arrived in London on Sunday morning, took the tube to the Old Street station (about an hour) and walked to my new flat. I have to admit when I got there, I was a bit worried. On the outside, the building looked fairly skeevey. The bars on the doors were not very encouraging. And there was no one around. I thought this was supposed to be a happening place.

When I got inside, there were also bars on the door of the flat. The landlady told me that "It was safe, just always make sure the bars are locked." OK.

But the neighborhood got a lot more lively as the day went on and has been very bustling on the weekdays. It's kind of nice that I am outside the tourist areas. After a day of sightseeing on Monday, I walked a good deal of the way home, stopped at my local grocery and went on to my flat like a proper Londoner. And here is the view from my flat at night, no historic buildings but a nice view.

The flat itself is a bit stark, but quite large with two big bedrooms and a nice kitchen.

Random notes: When I arrived, my computer would not work and I had forgotten my cell phone charger. But after having my sister Trish go to all the trouble of finding my charger in my car and contacting my nephew Will to bring it with him on Wednesday, I was actually able to buy a charger here, despite the voltage difference. The beauty of a big city! And I was able to get the computer working just by taking out the battery, blowing on it and putting it back in. Too easy.

I had found a cite that gave you a tour of London on regular London buses---just take the specific buses and you would see the big attractions without paying the tourist prices for a tour bus. So I went down to Picadilly Circus, got on the #9 and went two blocks before the driver emptied the bus because the traffic jam was so bad that we were better off walking.

A lot of the city is under construction because of the upcoming Olympics (2012). For instance Leicester Square, in the theater district, is completely surrounded by a high construction wall. There's a lot of noise coming from within but you can't see a thing.

Museums here are free, although they do ask for a contribution. So I stopped at the National Gallery on Monday and saw a number of Da Vincis and Rembrandts. Just lovely.