London--Not a chill to the wind but a nip to the air

I slept horribly. Couldn't find the right sleep. I was fooled by the early sunlight of the north. I assumed it had to be 7am at the earliest--5:15. I felt like Kasia, up until 2AM and wide awake @5. So I went for a walk. For some reason the think I wanted to see the most in London was Grosvenor Square. I guess that's silly but there it is. I set off north towards the Square passing all sorts of embassies along the way. I had London to myself that early in the morning. The street I took to the square was small and tight, confirming my preconceptions of London. After reaching the square I realized that the majority of it was cordoned off (protection for our embassy). I strolled around it then headed towards Hyde Park. The vast open space was amazing in the heart of the city (it would have reminded me of Central Park more if it weren't so flat). Achilles, looming large, was the most striking feature of the park. A monstrous sculpture, it was created from cannon used during several battles to honor the Duke of Wellington. I strolled down the (by this point) the much busier Knightsbridge Rd towards Royal Albert Hall (the other top destination in London for me) before realizing it would be too much ground to cover. I also figured something would be open by this point so I could get batteries for my travel alarm clock and maybe a quick bite. Wrong again. It was only 630 by the time I got back to my hotel. I wandered for another 15 minutes (getting a Pain au Rasin at Starbucks along the way) until I found a small shop run by a man apparently prone to sneezing fits--which naturally interrupted the battery and newspaper transaction. He was a friendly, helpful man though (helping me sort through the various change I'd acquired). Speaking of which, Ive always envisioned English women as somewhat frumpy and with bad teeth--wrong again--I haven't seen anyone around my age that wasn't at least on the attractive side of plain. Maybe I'm just in need of personal/verbal contact so my eyes are jaundiced.

After about 4 more hrs of sleep I walked across the street to what I can only guess is Jamba Juice's UK arm/brand: Crush. Jamba is better. I cleaned up, packed, and went down to check out. Despite its ease and low cost I opted for a cab to Waterloo instead of the Tube. The concierge hailed me a bright pink Taxi and off Charles and I went. I'm glad I opted for the cab because I passed the changing of the guard as it was happening and saw Parliament, Big Ben, etc along the way (with the ever present help of Charles pointing things out along the way). Now I'm about 3hrs early for my train (I guess I take after Dad) but I had to be out of the hotel by 12 and don't feel like lugging my bag around London trying to see sights--So, instead Ive got the International Herald Tribune, a croissant, some water and a prime spot for people watching.