Happy New Year!

The ball dropped here in London two hours ago...(actually that honor's reserved for New York) but they rang in the New Year with a huge fireworks display over the Thames River by the London Eye (Ferris wheel) - It was spectacular! Truly worth the £1 million price tag and the crazy mob of people that packed central London for the festivities. It was definitely a cold night, my legs are still de-thawing, but walking a few miles helped stay warm. The Bobbies were out in full force, and the sheer number of people was overwhelming - they actually closed down most of the major streets in central London to car traffic (like Piccadilly, Oxford Street, Shaftesbury Ave, etc) and the tube was free.

My New Year's Eve began rather unassuming, but ended with a bang! I walked to Trafalgar Square and spent most of the afternoon getting lost around Soho...it was lovely. I didn't brave the National Gallery - will save that for another day...but I could see Big Ben from the steps where the fountains were, and it was a grand sight. (Pictures to come!) I also found Chinatown - and had a laugh over the fact that I'd never seen it 8 years ago, even though it was right in the middle of the city. As I wandered around Soho...I happened to run into a very traditional English Pub named Coach and Horses. It was totally storybook perfect and even had a fireplace in the upstairs - dark wooden tables an chairs, mahogany bar...and I sampled a Strongbow while I snacked on pistachios, and then had a marinated vegetable sandwich with chips...quite nice.

After walking around Theaterland for a long time, I caught the 7:30pm performance of Les Miserables - the longest running show in London. It was fantastic. And afterwards, I followed the already amassed crowd into Piccadilly Circus. There were so many people flooding the area I was sure something was happening...but two really nice police officers indicated that it was normal chaos. I met a nice young woman who needed to borrow a pen, her name is Claire, and she invited me to walk with her and her friend towards the river for the firework show. And after 2 miles to get back to my hotel...It's 2:11am here and I'd say it was a lovely eve...a lovely New Year's in London indeed.

My best wishes to all of you for a lovely New Year and happiness in 2010!
~Peace & Love