Lessons from London

Just a few quick observations...

#1: If you're with a kid in London, you have about as much chance of eating in a pub past 8:00 p.m. as a leper. No matter how cute you are (the kid, that is). *

*I discovered this after Gordon (with her 14-month-old in tow) and I were turned away from two places last night because they didn't have the "license" to serve kids. Too bad, because the baby was really looking forward to getting sloshed.

#2: Regardless of where you roam, you’ll never be lost—or decaffeinated. That’s because there are directional signs, street maps and a Starbucks on nearly every corner.

#3: As much as you look or feel like a freak doing so in other parts of the world, running with a heavy backpack is completely acceptable in London. (Well, the runners may still look like freaks, but they’re freaks with friends: I’ve seen about 10 runners trudging along with big backpacks. Still, it doesn’t look comfortable in the slightest.)