Looong layover, but not too shabby!

On the morning of August 28th, I got to the Istanbul airport early and waited for the Delta counter to open. I knew I wasn't flying out to JFK that day but as my ultimate destination was Wyoming, I was hopeful Delta would find an east-coast avoidance route for me. And they did. It involved British Airways and a flight to London where I'd spend the night then fly to Atlanta the next day, following on to Salt Lake City. Further flights into Wyoming would be the following day so I opted to pay the cheaper route of a one-way rental car than pay for taxis and hotels in the S-to-the-LC.

As for London, I'd never been there before. (I'd once stopped in England but that involved a hasty hotel check-in and shower before running for the next flight- sounds salacious but it was decidedly not so.) I got to my hotel just down the road from Piccadilly Circus about  six in the evening. I ventured out for a hearty meal (marscapone and spinach stuffed chicken thighs along with garlic potatoes, and a robust shiraz) then wandered the streets for a bit.

You'd think with all the London riots of this past month that when I came upon a sizable gathered crowd that I would have avoided it; I did not.

 Fortunately for me, this crowd was less about (ostensibly) protesting police violence and more about staring at street performers and artists.

 Wanting to at least see a bit of London, I continued to walk around- definitely enjoying Soho and feeling like I was back in SE Asia. I even had a warm brown sugar milk tea (with boba!). But as I took this turn and that turn and ended up on the sex shop street, I started to think I should just go home. Then on a deserted street, I came upon a little sitting area with two men on a bench. I was going to avoid it altogether then I realized they were bronze. And a couple of old friends of mine (once a history nerd, always a history nerd).

"I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made." ~FDR

"From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put." ~Churchill

"Remember you are just an extra in everyone else's play." ~FDR

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." ~Churchill

"The school is the last expenditure upon which America should be willing to economize." ~FDR

"You must sleep sometime between lunch and dinner, and no halfway measures. Take off your clothes and get into bed. That's what I always go. Don't think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That's a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one - well, at least one and a half." ~Churchill (Whenever I get overwhelmed I think of Churchill napping during WWII, and I am reminded that 'slow is fast'.)

"I'm not the smartest fellow in the world but I can sure pick smart colleagues." ~FDR

"If you're going through hell, keep going." ~Churchill