Ace Hotel Kensington London

Clearly from the title...WE SAW KEANE LAST NIGHT. The first two acts were actually really great too, Ladyhawke and the Tom Tom Club. But Keane...oh Keane. I can't even explain how incredible they were, I've seen them before a couple years ago in Vancouver, but this was something else. The crowd in the small arena was INSANE! The band is so huge in England, and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing. Tom's voice was, as always, magical. And he sang "Playing Along" acoustically which was the mos...

So far London is a grey place. People outside hurry along, they walk fast, faster than even New yorkers. Not much eye contact or warm smiling on the street here in Kensington. That all changes when one enters a pub. Last night at the Three Kings, I talked hockey and soccer with people from France, Australia, and Ohio. Also an extended chat about my beloved Red Sox with an English fellow from the neighborhood. Then after I drank Dr. Peppers from the vending machine and talked buddhist philosop...

We made it to London! Our flight left from O'Hare last night at 7:45 pm and we arrived in London at 9:20 am London time (3:20 am Chicago time). The flight went well. We left on time, there was minimal turbulence, and the food was good. I slept most of the time but never fell into a deep sleep, but for the most part I felt fairly rested when we landed. Greg slept about an hour but said he was fine. We both dozed off on the tube late in the day but luckily woke up before out stop. After arrivin...

I woke up this morning thinking two things: 1. I should not have had that second gin and tonic and 2. I was leaving Spain today. I grabbed some tea and toast, took a quick shower and headed downstairs to find Francois, Tom and Kiyo. Everyone wasn't feeling too well so we decided to attempt some lunch. Sitting at the table felt like we were the UN- we represented Canada, Belgium, Japan, France, Sweden, Germany and the USA... only in Europe! We all picked at our food in an attempt to feel bette...

I write this in a pretty little internet cafe at Jomtien Beach, near Pattaya, just down the Thai Gulf from Bangkok. The best thing about the cafe is that, in the absence of airconditioning I have a personal fan at my feet doing quite an effective job of counteracting the 33 degrees of heat and 100 degrees of humidity. My favourite weather - would that Emma was here to explain to me why it's okay. Actually I'm whinging too much. I have a nice room with balcony overlooking the Gulf of Thailand ...

We got here on Saturday morning (9/6) and came to our hotel to check in. After that, we went to get some lunch at a little grocery store and ate at a nice,quiet park near our hotel. Our hotel is very nice. There is a lot of room to hang out with people outside of the rooms. Then we went on a walking tower with our entire group. It was two hours of walking and we kind of had jet lag, but the tour guide was fabulous. That was the first time I saw Big Ben. I came up from the subway and was just ...

We arrived safely in London this morning. The immigration and customs went quite smoothly. After a quick snack, we went about finding a way to get to the hostel. We first inquired about a taxi, which would have been about 100 USD. Then the Heathrow Express, which would have been about 60USD for the three of us. We then inquired about the local train, which was only 10 USD for the three of us and iot was a direct line to the Ace Hostel, where we will stay for the night. When we arrived at 10am...

Hey There Everyone, Merry Christmas!!! Well, we have now made it to London, England. We arrived into the airport around 11am this morning and met up with Chris and Mickey. Unfortunately no buses or public transportation were running today, so we ended up having to take a bus and then cab to our hostel. We are staying at the Ace Hotel in West Kensington. It is a really cool place and we are very happy with the conditions of the place and how friendly the staff are here. Well, thats all for now...