For the first time in over 40 years, I do not have a car key on my key ring. In our move to London  , we made a conscious decision to be car free. Multiple factors contributed to the decision, cost of  storage, length of stay and realistic expectations. 
Our commitment is at least two years and that is a long time for a car to sit idle. You've seen the shows, a dark foreboding space, an amorphous lump sitting covered in some sort of tarp. Dusty, covered in chicken feathers and straw bales, forgotten long ago. Waiting to be rediscovered.   Whoa wait a minute, I lived in Chicago, anyway you get the picture. So we shed our cars. 
Which really on the surface is no problem. London has one of the most extensive public transportation systems in the world. The Tube, the overland train and those classic ubiquitous red double-decker buses.
Our days of the drive-thru and parallel parking, suburban parking lots, are a thing of the past. We are pedestrians now.  And my eyes have been opened wide.
I have a new found appreciation for those brave souls choosing to be self propelled. To move about the world under their own power exposed to the elements, naked to the wrath or blessings of Mother Nature. Dependent upon the made-man system known as mass transit.
Despite it's availability, mass transit takes work, forethought and planning to use. Some of the first Apps we   downloaded dealt with transit. Tube mapper, bus routes,and time between buses.
The simplest of excursions needs to be planned and thought out. I'm not complaining just awakened to a new dimension of moving about.
Forethought and logistics. Like an army on the move, the start and finish is the ultimate goal.  Like the litany LA drivers recite every-time they move about,  taking the 405  to the 105 to the 110 etc. etc. the same mantra applies here. Take the Northern Line, to the Central line or to the Piccadilly line etc. etc. All the while listening to the overhead speakers proclaiming " Good service on all lines at this time" which is not always the case. British mass transit while altogether extensive and comprehensive, can be fickle and mind numbingly inconsiderate. According to those with longer tube riding experience, spot strikes, errant debris such as leaves on the tracks and other seemingly innocuous  occurrences can shut down a whole line. Forcing thou sands to seek alternative routes.  Then there is the Cinderella factor. The underground does not run all night long. Certain lines shut down overnight. So to that end, a pub crawl or night out is defined by what time the last train leaves for your stop. So when that clock strikes the appointed hour, you don't want to be turned into a pumpkin stranded in Shoreditch, needing to get back to Hampstead, and that is a long expensive cab ride.
I am still enamored  by the notion of not paying car insurance, fuel and maintenance costs. Parking is a nightmare here and the enforcement officers make the LAZ guys of Chicago look like a bunch of girl scouts. I carry an umbrella w ith me at all times prepared for the random rain shower, a copy of the tube map along with the bus app on the my phone. Walking everywhere has improved my health and I am actually getting better winded. I enjoy  watching people and notice my environment more closely. The downside is a minor loss of spontaneity. A quick trip across  town or an out of the way spot in the country is tougher to accomplish. Not that it can't be done. Logistics and a good working knowledge of the resources available still can make it happen. Rental cars and car clubs like Zip exist, but that's another blog topic.

The adventure is in the journey and every journey an adventure. So in the mean time, I will carry my copy of the Tube map, my umbrella and most of all  'Mind the Gap'.