After a long flight, I have arrived in London. I’m glad I brought my heavy winter coat; the 40-degree temperature is surprisiingly frigid.

My flight on Northwest was quite pleasant, not the least reason being that it actually happened — the pilots have not yet struck. The plane was a relatively new A-330, which was equipped with a surprisingly enjoyable individual entertainment system. Each seat had a screen on which the passenger could watch one of several dozen movies on demand, watch the progress of the plane, or even play games against the other passengers.

It is amusing to watch people drive on the left instead of the right. This switch also applies to right-of-way on walkways — people habitually go to the left when approaching others.

It is nice not to deal with a language barrier. Sure, there are subtle differences, but the gap is nothing like the one between English and Italian. Everybody sounds so proper and British — imagine that! I swear, the airport train announcement voice sounded exactly like Pierce Brosnan. Unfortunately, the voice kept telling me that my train was running later and later; German trains, these were not.

I am somewhat underwhelmed by my first Tube experience. To be sure, it wasn’t a bad experience, it just wasn’t the zen that I was expecting. At this stage of my journey, I would still rank the Paris metro as my favorite subway system.

Jet lag sucks. Gotta stay awake…