dream outloud

London. November 1, 2009

So, the rest of Thursday afternoon, I wandered about Kensington, stopped in a few shops, went to Tesco to snag some meds for my cold, and ended up at Cafe Nero, which is London's answer to Starbucks (which is still everywhere!). The latte was good, and it was really nice to just sit alone for a bit and enjoy being in the city. I didn't stay too long, before hopping the Tube back to the Sarac's flat. It was a good afternoon.

We ate dinner and settled in for another night of tea and TV...yeah.

Friday, we had another lazy morning before walking through part of Regent Park to Marylborne. It's a "posh" area, as Olgica would say - and there were some fun shops. (Olgica's and my opinions of "fun shops" were a bit different, but that's how it goes). We went to the Wallace House Collection - a museum nearby, and there were lots of paintings, furniture, and sculptures. Quite a few Rembrants, and even a Titian...I was pleasantly surprised. They had a fabulous armor collection too.

After the museum, we stopped for coffee and ate our mini pies. Then, we walked on to Oxford Circus where we did a bit more shopping, and I finally found some gifts for family. We got on the (very busy) Tube, and went to Camden Town where Olgica and I split up. She went to the produce market, and I went to the Camden Town Market - which is a crazy/awesome punk/stoner market with some cool stuff, and pretty interesting people. Lots of metal, lots of ink, and lots of leather, right by a branch of the canal - I liked it. Kinda touristy, but I'd definitely go back (especially with fun friends). I'd like to have spent more time there...but after a while of wandering, I went back to Olgicas, where we had dinner, and then (guess what!?) watched TV.

Saturday, we slept in a bit (8:30 am), and watched TV...again. Nick and I pulled a "kid morning" and watched "Shrek the 3rd". It was pretty good. Nick was pretty much settled in for the morning, so I got dressed (Olgica had already gone to the Market, and Micha was at work), and went to the Borough Street Market (which was recommended to me by Charlotte). It was wonderful! So many interesting and beautiful vending displays in a pretty sweet part of town near London Bridge. The produce was beautiful!

At the Market, they were having a "Draw London" event (which was happening all over the city all through the month of October), which had tables set up with watercolor pastels and produce. You picked a veggie/fruit to "still life", composed it, and when done, swapped it out for another piece of art someone had done - so you went home with someone else's art work. I painted an asparagus bunch, and swapped it out for a lovely radish. It was really awesome - a trip highlight! They also had butcher paper stretched out along a fence, and people were doing ink paintings of scenes from "along the river", and a couple of ladies were doing historic musical pieces with an accordion - it was pretty sweet. :)

After painting, and perusing, I went to Monmouth Coffee (also recommended by Charlotte), which had a line out the door and around the corner - but hey, an experience is an experience! I talked with the guy expediting the line, and he was pretty awesome. We talked about coffee/travel for quite a bit. Anyways, I finally got my coffee (which they pour right in front of you at the counter, and it's a pretty cool process), and a brownie (I needed a chocolate fix!), and sat outside to enjoy. I really could have spent all day there (in that general area - there was so much to see!), but Nicholas really wanted me to see part of the "big game": Tottenham (his team) v. Arsenal (the enemy). Well, Arsenal whooped 'em 3-0. It was pretty bad.

When the game was over, Nick, Olgica, and I drove to Greenwich, where Nick went to school - also the home of the Prime Meridian. We climbed to the top of the hill to the Observatory, where people have watched stars for ages...there was a Camera Obscura, and a cool museum outlining the invention of clocks, and the progress of navigation through the ages. And (of course), the Meridian Line - marked by a laser line. We walked down into the town, and stopped at a pub called Shepherd & Neames. It was a really nice (clean, well lit, kinda pricey) pub, and I had fish and chips and a pint. And, I did the typical tourist in a phone booth routine. Anyways, after that, we drove home, and yup - you guessed it - watched TV!

We watched Brittan's version of "Dancing with the Stars" ("Strickly Come Dancing")(which makes no grammatical sense), and "American Idol" ("The X Factor"). Both had familiar faces: Len and Bruno, and Simon Cowell. And then we went to bed.

Today, we got up, got ready, and went to church. It was nice - very multi-cultural. Then, we took the Tube (Olgica and I) to Heathrow, where I checked in, wandered, and am now sitting in a place called the "Giraffe", and just finished a pretty good burger, fries and Diet Coke with lime. Life is looking better. :) Never though I'd really miss that after only 2 weeks...C'mon, Chicago!