Monday

This morning we took a cab to Westfield shopping mall to look for some shorts. We were not expecting the weather to be as nice as it was, and I wasn’t expecting the thin Columbia pants I brought to be as warm as they are. I only brought one pair of lounging athletic shorts. The mall was very nice with about 4 different levels. Only cost about 17 GBP to get there and well worth not dealing with the hassle of a bus or the Underground.

The weather has been really nice. There may be some rain later today. Tomorrow is 100% chance of rain, but Wed and Thr is 0%. 

Went for dinner at a pub called Bunches of Grapes and had the classic Fish & Chips. Also made a reservation for Sunday’s Roast.

I just have to comment on a few things I have seen where the UK is doing it right and we are doing it wrong. Contactless payment almost everywhere. Even taking the London Underground uses either a chipped card or your phone to enter and exit the Tube which then changes you depending on what Zone you traveled through. No more standing at a ticket machine trying to figure it out. Tied to the first thing mentioned, your credit card never leaves your view. All transactions are made in front of you. Standing in a queue (l
ine)…everybody gets it! No one cuts the line. 

I thought this one was interesting. I bought.a bottle of soda and the screw off cap is engineered in such a way to stay on the bottle like a flip off/on cap. Brilliant!