My trip to India is off to a rather inauspicious beginning. (And no, I'm not talking about this.) I made it from New York to London without incident, but because of an absurdly tight schedule booked for me by Orbitz.com, I missed my connecting flight to Bombay, despite arriving at Heathrow more than forty minutes before my scheduled departure. Apparently you absolutely need to check in an hour early for all flights, and the Orbitz scheduling algorithm didn't take this into account. Anyway, I'm stuck in London for the day, which may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, for the following reasons:

1. I've rebooked another flight to Bombay for tonight, free of charge.
2. Because of my international circle of friends (aka Bessie), I was able to spend the night in a cozy and charming apartment only a few blocks from King's Cross, complete with a warm quilt, wireless Internet, and an exhibitionist neighbor next door. (It's like a BBC sitcom around here.)
3. I have the entire day free, which means that I can have a spot of tea and check out Searching for Shakespeare at the National Portrait Gallery.

On the other hand, I'm dressed for Bombay weather, and believe it or not, it's foggy outside.