ten hours in London

A few months ago I found a great deal on a ticket back to South Africa - less than $1000! I took it knowing full well I had a very long layover in London. Now that I'm actually in the midst of my 2 day adventure, I just wish I had a cozy bed to sleep in - mostly because I have a cold. But no crying from me, I took full advantage and embarked on a cold adventure maneuvering around the airport, finding where to leave my luggage and then hopping on the tube to get into the city. I got to watch the Covent Garden market people setting up their stalls and then enjoyed a tasty breakfast at a little local coffee shop. Even though I was exhausted and a bit chilly, going back and sitting around the airport was not an option so I followed my map and just walked around town. At one point it snowed, there were about a million motorcycles in the street around Trafalgar Square honking their horns and there was a Chinese New Year celebration with fireworks. I was close to Buckingham Palace when the fireworks went off and I thought the town was crumbling around us - sortof overshadowed the changing of the guard but I wasn't close enough to see that anyway so I just kept walking. Then I walked a little more and saw Big Ben and Parliament and all I could think of was Chevy Chase in European Vacation - "look kids...". I have a ton of pictures because what else was I going to do. now I'm back in the airport killing some more time before my flight opens up for boarding. I'm exhausted - don't think I slept a wink on the first flight despite the fact that I was stretched out on an entire row of seats. Cross your fingers for the next flight...