From Paris to London

Hey friends.

We made it to London safely and (finally) found our Hostel. Turns out that, though Montague Place and Montague STREET are very close to one another, you won't find the place you're looking for unless you choose the right one.

Who knew?

Anyway, we're down to two and a half days left. I can hardly believe it. So, I suppose we'll take in as much of London as is possible in that span of time.

Now, I know that the Football (and by that I mean 'American Football') season is starting today. But, don't forget that an even more impressively violent sport is in full swing: The Rugby World Cup. Jess and I had a chance to take in the France v. Argentina match while we were cooking dinner the other night. It was spectacular. If I were an NFL player, I'd be scared of these guys. So, all that to say, even though the NFL is getting underway, don't forget to watch a bit of the NFL's kissing cousin if you get a chance.

Oh, you're proabably wondering about Paris. It was good. Very good. How exactly do you describe 6 days in Paris? I could give a blow by blow account of what sights we saw, etc. But that's proably not very interesting to read...and proabably not worth the exorbitent internet fees to type--by the way, thank GOD that we're back in the land where keyboards make sense. I feel like I had to offer an animal sacrifice to our last keyboard every time I wanted to use the @ key. Ridiculous.

OK, Paris. Well, I'm gonna cop out again and say we'll chat about it with ya'll when we get back. A couple of random thoughts (as if this post weren't random enough already).

• First, any weight that I may have lost trekking around other parts of Europe was...er, redistributed by the spectacular pastries of Paris.
• Second, the US has a national bird, a national seal, etc. France has a national smell. It is that delicated combination of sidwalk urine, cigarette smoke and body odor all of which is then mixed with delightful smells of baking pastries. I feel conflicted.
• Third...is it so hard to standardize keyboards? Seriously.
• Fourth--what happened to the Twins while I was gone??!!?? Seriously. I leave for five minutes and the whole central division goes to hell in a handbasket.
• Fifth--the US needs to figure out better public transportation. Paris' metro was spectacular.
• Sixth--why is everything so expensive in London? As if it weren't enough that the Pound is 2:1 over the dollar--everything actually costs twice as much...except Broadway-ish shows....which we'll be taking in later tomorrow or Tuesday.

OK, I guess that's all for now. Blessings, all--we love to hear your feedback!