First Day in London--Look Right First

Greetings from across the Pond
I arrived yesterday afternoon at this very nice B&B in Penge (pronounced Penj). The trip went well. We had a long delay leaving Portland, but it just meant I spent more time in the Portland airport instead of the Denver airport. I had a bad experience at Heathrow which could have been a disaster. The cash machine ate my bank card even though I told them I was traveling to London. Fortunately, my credit card works.

I ate my first English meal at this take-away restaurant in Penge. I ate shish and doner kebabs. Delicious, but there must have been over a pound of food.I had to eat it there because I'm not allowed to eat take-away food in my room. I can eat in the kitchen, but not Indian food. I guess it's too pungent for people who aren't eating it.

I took it easy today while I worked on my jet lag. I walked around Penge and then took a bus to the nearby town of Bromley. It has quite a shopping area, but I didn't buy anything. I had shepherd's pie for lunch. It came with 3 vegetables and potatoes. In my experience so far, the English are hearty eaters.

Penge is a kind of small town. It's not as small as miss Marple's St. Mary Mead, but it's hardly a Metropolis. This is a picture of High Street, the main drag.

Some of the townhouses in Penge have pretty little gardens. I'm partial to tiny gardens myself, so I like them. Unfortunately, that also seems to be where everyone has to keep their garbage. It kind of ruins the look, but I suppose people here must be used to it and just overlook it.

I'm listening to talk radio and the speaker is talking about how middle-class people in Manhattan are "freganning" by picking up free food being thrown away by restaurants and grocery stores. He said that Americans are claiming things are bad there, but if they had to put up with what the English tolerate, they'd revolt.

Tomorrow, the Tower of London!

Peggy