A quiet Saturday

This was a nice day to relax, sort of. I slept in and then went for a five-mile along the Thames. Same route I took the other day. This time I got my Garmin GPS watch to work, sort of. It didn't kick in right away, but finally started working on the south side of the river. I had the time set for Portland and that might have had something to do with it. The trees and buildings didn't help either.

It was a nice day here and a big one for the Royals. The Queen celegrated her birthday. It's not really her birthday, but she celebrates it today because the weather is usually better. They have this parade thing called the Trooping of the Colour. When I got back from running, it was on TV. It was pretty cool. Lots of bands, marching and horses. The Queen looked good in a yellow dress.

I went on an eight-hour exploring trip starting at Covent Garden, where I picked up a Cuban cigar. Cigars are expensive here because of the tax -- which makes everything expensive. A 17.5% VAT is built into most purchases. On to Picadilly Circus where I picked up an England football shirt marked down at Lillywhite for tomorrow night. I visited Jermyn Street, my favorite haunt for shirts. I especially like the Thomas Pink store. On to Carnaby Street and crowded Oxford Street. I swear there must be lots of disposable income in this country because there's nothing but retail and restaurants around here and they always crowded.

Pub food tonight. I went to the Freemason's Arms down the street to watch the Spain-Russia Euro 2004 match on the big screen and down a couple of lager and limes. Spain won with a goal in the second half, 1-0, but Spain totally dominated the game. Portugal, the host country, was shocked by Greece earlier in the day. Of course, the big match is tomorrow evening when England takes on Spain. Most stores and pubs have visible displays of support for the locals. Big banners hung along Picadilly imploring: Come On England. It'll be a sad day Monday if they lose.