1st day in the UK

So yah...I am here. After a rather event-less flight we landed in London, England at around 1:30 in the afternoon...July 4th. Dealt with customs(the lady was so lame), walked and walked and walked forever in Heathrow, hoped on the underground train out of Heathrow, fell asleep briefly on the ride...it was really hot. Got off at fensbury park and proceeded to find Brice...a friend of a friends who is living and working in London for the summer. We got briefly lost in Fensbury Park but eventually found his house; a three story flat with 5 roomates. We got the tour, talked a bit and then quickly were off for some coffee at a local cafe. The cafe waiter told Brice he was bummed out about Brazil losing against France in World Cup soccer...looked at us and mistaked us for French due to the expressions on our face.(totally want France to win the whole thing). Good coffee, talked and planned the day. Ended up taking the Underground and met some of Brice's friends on the border of the east end. Two spaniards and two italians, and us...three americans. We walked to a "Off Licence"(equivalent of a corner store in the UK)...the spaniards and italians got some tall boys of Carlsburg...we walked to Hoxston Square and hung out in this park where everyone pretty much just hangs out and drinks. We were there for a bit over an hour. Perfect weather, good conversation, etc. Then we hopped on a couple of Double-Deckers, took it to the Angel district and met another one of Brice's friends for a French dinner. Now the funny thing about the French dinner is that for some reason, no where in the world is French food available for a decent price. For example, Brice spent a year in France and never ate any French food past a crossaint, bread or maybe a pastry. And think about your town...if there is a french restaurant it is obviously not cheap. Well for some reason, in the heart of one of the most expensive cities in the world, Brice and friends had found a decently priced french restaurant. So we went...and it was awesome. I had Tartatelle(sp???) and some other goodies. We then went to a bar, had a beer, watched Italian soccer fans flood the streets after their win tonight against Germany...found a Banksy stencil...took a double decker home...and here I am.

The wonderful thing about this awesome first day in the UK is that I have yet to see any landmark or popular tourist site that would define London to the average visitor. I have spent almost 12 hours here and havent even seen the river! This is the sort of thing that I had wanted to do upon my visit to Europe; to penetrate a city beyond the sites its known for. While I do plan on seeing some of these places...by no means is it a priority. Today I strolled in three different districts, hung out in a park with people from Spain and Italy, had awesome French food. A good start I think...
Tomorrow: breakfast in fensbury park ,the tate modern, potluck at Brice's friends house, watching France vs. Portugal at a pub and i dunno....
photos to come soon hopefully....