Harlington, London

So we're staying in a charming little concept of a hotel called EasyHotel, near Heathrow Airport. The rooms are like cabins on a ship - no windows, hold only a bed and a tiny airplane-type bathroom. But for people who need to sleep and crash and a place to hold luggage for 48 hours, perfect - it's cheap and handy to the airport. We have 3, since 2 people barely fit into a room. They're really more like cubbyholes than anything. Love it.

Our flight landed in the evening, after dusk & we headed for a cash machine and then called our hotel which arranged a taxi to come get us. The driver was from Afghanistan, and he and Don chatted as we whizzed through the streets on what seems like the wrong side of the road, British rap blasting on the radio. He has been here since he left Afghanistan during the Mujahadeen and assured us that if he had stayed he'd be dead.

By the time we got to the hotel it was closing on 10:30 at night here and our clerk recommended an Indian Tandoori restaurant a short walk away that was likely to be open. It's a cool clear breezy night, a pleasant walk along the streets of the Harlington neighborhood with double-deckers passing in the night. The food was amazing, really some of the best Indian food we'd ever had, and the manager/waiter was the son of the owners who are Pakistani Christians. He was voluble and kind and we had an incredible meal and then we patted our faces with lemon-scented hot towels.

Everyone is charmed by how things in Britain seem miniaturized - the cars, houses, streets, everything. Tomorrow we head to Oxford on a bus, to stroll, go punting. On the plane we had the books Three Men in a Boat (hilarious, if you've never read it yet) and To Say Nothing of the Dog, both of which use the Oxford stretch of the Thames as a plot device. Should be a fun day, the weather looks to be perfect.

Cheerio!