Blogging from Celebration Europe

So I've only been here Friday and Saturday, at the largest Star Wars convention in London called Celebration Europe. As usual I've had a blast, but that first day here almost killed me. I was jet lagged for not being able to sleep on the plane so I stayed up for 36 hours, as soon as I got off the plane I was hit with a massive allergy attack that made my eyes so puffy I could barely take photos or write when I got to the hotel near the ExCel Center in London. The receptionists at the hotel were anything but nice or friendly. In fact they seemed rather resentful for having to work at all. But I did get to see my old buddy Neil for a drink, and took as many photos as I could of fans in costume. And met some new people like ds0urce and other fun bloggers.

So here's a highlight list of what I've done so far:
- Saw a blurry tour of London as I was falling asleep in the cab from Heathrow to the hotel.
+ Watched a bit of A New Hope on the lawn for an outside screening at the ExCel Center in London.
- Took tons of allergy pills (thanks to Tom and Terri who got some for me).
+ Met international 501st Legion members and took photos of them in stormtrooper gear.
+ Watched fans compete in the Star Wars Tattoo Contest.
+ Saw the additional 28 helmets decorated and remixed by various UK-based artists in The Vader Project art exhibition.
+ Gawked at the Illustrated Stormtrooper installation of tattoo art drawn on an entire Stormtrooper armor costume.
+ Met Mark and his awesome wife from the Lightsabre UK blog.
+ Signed books for fans who bought You can Draw: Star Wars
+ Witnessed the Battle of the Bands as Darth Elvis and a metal band competed for the Bith trophy.
+ Watched in awe as fans paraded across the stage for the Star Wars Costume Pageant -- LEGO Vader was the best!
+ Met families and kids at different events as they gushed about how they love films and events just like these.
+ Stumbled back and forth from the venue to the hotel room whenever my camera battery went dead and attempted to upload as many photos as I could to the Official Star Wars Blog on Flickr.

Be sure to also check out our coverage of the event on the Official Starwars.com Blog here.