For the second time since moving to the United States, I'm having a non-traditional Thanksgiving. Specifically, spending it on a train, but more on that later. After writing last night's entry, we wandered off to find some food. Near the hotel were many pubs and cafes, as well as Indian places. I'd heard the Indian was good in London, and wasn't let down. We ate at Spicy World, and had a fine feast of poppadums, samosas, tandoori paneer and chicken tikka masala. Yummy. Following that, I made it my mission to have a real pint, and not of some super cold Guinness. All the pubs were packed... turns out there was a football match that night everyone wanted to see, but we found a pub that had some room. While they had their 'Extra Cold' Guinness, I also ordered a pint of ale pulled in the traditional style. No real carbonation to push it, it's pumped by repeated pulling of the handle. The temperature was just right, and it was delicious! Finally, a true British Beer! This morning, we checked out, ate breakfast, checked our bags at the train station and wandered London some more. Our search for a real cheese shop wasn't fruitful, though we did have a lot of fun sightseeing. I found a pub that served Guinness extra cold, but also traditionally, so we of course partook in that. Also visited a pub serving cheese plates, where I had another pint of a nice English bitter. Our trek through London came to and end as we boaded our train at Victoria Station, bound for Portsmouth where we'll ride an overnight ferry to the Brittany coast of France. I hope to find one more pub in Portsmouth to enjoy yet another pint as well as a traditonal helping of fish and chips. As I write this, we're ambling slowly through the English countryside. Gently rolling hills, green fields, cute cottages. It's so idyllic. Without doubt, we'll need to come back for a multi week stay just to explore the British Isles. It's a weird experience -- I feel both at home and alien at the same time. The accents sometimes harken back to the accents I'd hear at home in Newfoundland, but not usually. It's been great to experience the culture that gave birth to the one I grew up with. I know we'll be back here. As they say... Cheers!