Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Walking in London

is an interesting experience.  And it's something you get to experience a lot.  Even if using the tube or the buses, it takes some walking to move between them.  I'm getting my exercise allotment met every day.

But it's a new challenge.  There are two things that shake up an American a bit.  First, the traffic has the right of way.  Unless you're in a designated cross walk with a "green man" displayed (as opposed to red for stop), if you step out in front of a car and get it, you are at fault.  Which means that the drivers aren't paying attention to you, you better get out of their way.  Which brings us to the second problem.  Traffic coming from the "wrong" direction.  It's tough to get used to looking right first when crossing the road.  Forty-some-odd years is a long time to build a habit.  A few days practice doesn't break it.  Now, I'm mostly confused when I come to an intersection.  It's definitely a time to stay on your toes.

You also have to be careful about directions.  A Londoner might say "oh it's just a brief walk" and mean "it only takes 30 minutes."  Like I said, I should be in pretty good shape by the end of this time.  --The Prof

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