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Saturday, November 24, 2007 Welcome to London Stepping out of the Tube station near my home for the next four days, my first sight of London from street level consisted of Starbucks, KFC, and Burger King. It’s always amazing to me how large cities are so similar even in the midst of their differences: the area near the Knightsbridge stop is home to the iconic Harrods department store—and a host of stores that I can find on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Staples like the Gap hang out next to H&M, and I expect the clothes are primarily the same, with the exception that here they cost twice as much. I earned a laugh from the man working the Gatwick Express ticket counter at the airport when he told us that we were getting a great deal—two train tickets for free since there was a 2-for-1 deal on our party of four—and I chuckled and said that was good, since “My money’s worth nothing here!” Before leaving Bryan warned me that prices in London look normal. Until you remember that one pound is worth two US dollars. (It’s pathetic when even Canadian money is worth more than ours.) I wonder if Britons traveling to the US experience a similar feeling in reverse (“Wow, everything’s so cheap here!”). It’s interesting walking around Central London after recently reading Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere--when I first heard the recorded voice on the Underground say “Mind the Gap!” I nearly burst out laughing. (This would have probably caused my family to wonder if I was insane. Oh wait.) I browsed through Harrod’s imagining an underworld’s market materializing in the middle of the night and disappearing by morning, leaving no trace of sellers who would trade food for ballpoint pens and girls auditioning bodyguards. I know, I’m a geek. ^ Top | 2:11 PM | | | 
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