What can go wrong.....

Well, I discovered today that I am not very good at this travelling malarky. Half way to the airport, I realised I had forgotten my phone. Too late to turn back, so I have no phone for the next 3 months. Arrive at the airport, only to realise that the strap on my bag was broken. Lucky it's got wheels too! The flight to London was uneventful, as was the train journey. So we got a Taxi from Victoria Station to our hotel. "Sorry I can't seem to find your name on the list" The words every guest wants to here. "Have you got a booking confirmation?" was the next question. Of course I did. Or didn't. No I hadn't actually booked a hotel. Luckily enough they had two spare rooms. 
Next on the agenda was to go for a walk around the city. The hotel is in a great location, and we walked down to the London Bridge. I was armed with my camera, ready to take loads of pictures. And then the battery died. Of course I hadn't charged it! So we pottered around for a bit, and I did manage to get a few photos. We had arranged to meet my friend Stephen at a particular restaurant. We hadn't booked ahead (not for lack of trying!), and of course it was full. So we went to TGI Fridays instead, which was packed, but we got a table after a while. 
It was really interesting to see the various areas of London and how different they are. We walked through the financial district, (today being Saturday) and it was really really quiet, however, only down the road in Covent Garden the place was hopping. It didn't bother us, but as far as we could see London is not great to visit as a tourist in Mid - Late January, as many of the attractions seemed to be closed for maintenance. 

In spite of (quite a few) little mishaps, today was a good day. It was especially great to see Stephen and get a chance to catch up! Our plan now is to stay up late, and get up early tomorrow to try and counteract the jet lag. (Because of time differences we are missing out on a full night - leave here at midday on Sunday, arrive in Tokyo at 11p.m. Sunday evening GMT, which is 9am Monday morning Tokyo time!)