Day One: London

So after a quick and harried check-in yesterday (I was on standby until the last minute because they overbooked the flight, but got upgraded to first class because of it) and a long but rather uneventful flight last night, I arrived in London at 2pm. I took the tube (a 7 pound daily pass went a long way) to my hostel for tonight, checked in and was really impressed by it. Being my first hostel, I wasn't sure what to expect. However, this one at least (Palmer's Lodge) is really awesome. The building is a beautiful old manor house (I think), the beds are nice and everything is clean. There are a lot of guests, but everyone seems very nice and friendly. After getting settled in I took off for downtown london and a lightnigh self-tour. I saw Big Ben and the Parliament houses, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, London Bridge, and the Tower of London, and rode the London Eye, all in a matter of three hours. I wish I had more time, but it was getting dark and starting to rain so I called it quits. I spent most of the evening in the common room watching football (soccer) (Germany is going to the quarter-finals). Now I'm headed to bed before an early-morning EuroStar ride into Paris. Should be fun.