a good day

Yesterday turned out to be a banner day. Sleeping during the day wasn't easy, but with the few extra hours, I managed to get in an epic walkabout. I headed to the Whitechapel area to find a barber I had read about online. The neighborhood felt like a mix of middle eastern and college kids and artists, and was vibrantly alive with sights and sounds and people in the streets. It may be the best side of London I've seen. Or maybe getting a good haircut just put me in a good mood. I tubed back to the Tower of London and jumped on a boat up the Thames to Westminster. I usually avoid tourist things like that, but it seemed a good way to get in some basic sights quickly and take advantage of the rare nice sunny afternoon. Underneath Big Ben, I jumped on the tube to head back toward the hotel, but got off at Blackfriars hoping to make a quick stop at a sports store. Immediately outside the station I saw an amazing pub - the Black Friar no less - and was almost drawn inside. I resisted and made my way through some crazy but beautiful set of alleyways full of more very cool looking pubs to find the store closed. So back to the tube it was - but I just couldn't resist stopping at the Black Friar first for a very quick pint before making my way back to the hotel just in time to catch the shuttle in to work. It was a good day.