Thank God for cigarettes and gay men

I got a late start today since I was so exhausted from walking yesterday. Went to the neighborhood cafe and had, yet another quiche and coffee. (If I consume one more quiche you can stick me and roast me on the barbie.)

My destination, and only planned destination for the day was the London Tower. How f****** awesome it was to see a castle from the 1200's.

I walked over the massive bridge and was hoping to find a cool neighborhood, but instead hopped on a bus to Greenwich. This upper.middle class town is northeast of London. I wasn't sure what to expect. Got off the bus and walked toward the "tourist information" booth to find it was closed. So I ended up walking along the river walk and around the neighborhood where I found a quaint pub off the beaten path.

The Plum of Feathers (oldest pub in Greenwich 1691) provided superb service and excellent food.

Then I met them. My acquaintances for the night.

Glenn and Roger. Glenn a 65.year.old Englishman and Roger a 35.year.old Spaniard.

Outside, I asked Glenn for a light and he invited me over. We sat, drank, smoked, and talked about how hopefully Obama wins the election. They fell in love when I told them I quit my job to travel Europe, and I scored even more brownie points when I could talk American politics. (It's OK to have an intelligent conversation about politics. It's what we as Americans should do. It's the most basic form of democracy. OK, I'm done preaching.)

After visiting a couple of neighborhood pubs they treated us (me, Roger's brother and friend) to a wonderful Indian dinner and cabernet.

After dinner we came back to their flat and watched a Diana Krall DVD taped in Paris. Glenn is an American jazz and American movie aficionado. I could talk music, but not movies.

Now, I'm in their computer room/my bedroom typing this entry.

Some of you may be thinking, "Oh my god, how could you be staying at a stranger's home?" Look, this isn't a habit. And not everyone is out to get you (right, Ty?). You meet people and you just click. It's a hospitality thing. I'm in London, visiting their city, they want to show me a good time. I would do the same, and have for people. They have been nothing but hospitable and gentlemen.

I hesitated to write this entry because I didn't want to make anyone more nervous than they are about me traveling alone. My advice, trust that I'm probably the most street smart person out there, and I always have an exist plan. Oh, and turn off the 10 o'clock news and read the paper.