London, UK Leg

Arriving in London from NYC seemed like a logical progression. It almost feels like the New York of Europe/the UK. The city is even more multi-cultural than I remembered it when i used to come here in the 80s and 90s. Walking down the street you hear dozens of different languages - and the downtown district is full of ethnic food.

After taking a nap upon morning arrival I woke up around 3pm. My cousin, who works in the financial district, left me these directions: "Go down to Queensbury and take the Central Line (London Underground/Tube) to Liverpool Street - meet me at the Ol One Bar off City Road."
Well, it sounded alot easier than it was..but I ended up finding him. We went to a bar where I met alot of his colleagues. Everyone was very friendly and I was surprised at how many Americans there were. We then went to an Asian restaurant which was a contemporary fusion of Thai with influences of other Asian countries. Very posh. After Thai we met up with another crowd down at a lounge called Coccoon off of Regent Street (near Picadilly Circus). I loved this street - the architecture of bending buildings and a vibrant nightlife that was buzzing. From there we went to this basement club called 'China White' ($40 entrance fee) - it was house music in the main room which was an Oriental-style architecture - and they also had an R&B room which was entirely too packed to delve into. At around 3:00am we called it a night .

Tomorrow I will add some pics - as we have to get moving now to go to a going away Party for a friend of Paris's.

Here are some numbers for you all to chew off:

Heathrow Express £15.50
Thai Meal £12.50
To use the urinal in the Tube £0.40
To use towel instead of air dry in Hyde Park £0.20
China White entrance fee £20.00
Drink at Coccoon £9.00
Price of checking your coat in £2.00
Topping up your Oyster card £10.00
(multiply everything x 2 to get it in US Dollars - Now you see why London is one of the 5 most expensive places in the world. NYC didn't even make the Top 10)

Til later
_D