London Miscellany

Yes, I did do things in London other than watch streaming Internet tv and eat pizza.

I went to see Sasha and Andy in Camden. They taught me how to spin poi. We shopped. I almost bought new boots. Almost.

I went for a late afternoon walk through Hyde Park, starting at the carnival at Marble Arch, working my way along the cotton candy and rides to a fountain, along a straight row of trees, to a big round pond (possibly called Big Round Pond), through the duckies, to Kensington Palace, through the garden paths to Royal Albert Hall, along the Serpentine as darkness fell and back to Bromley, masquerading as a commuter.

Ariana and I did some sale shopping in Wimbledon and on Oxford Street. I managed not to have a panic attack on Oxford Street on the 27th of December. I managed to buy things on Oxford Street on the 27th of December.

David and I did Oxford Street too. He acquired The Leather Jacket of His Dreams. We walked in the rain to Covent Garden and searched in vain for the Doc Martens store (it's not there any more). We had drinks in the covered market as the rain poured down. Others cowered; we sat happily.

David and I went to the National Gallery. We didn't do it all, but we did a lot. It was crowded. It was good. Holbein's Ambassadors was impressive and Greenblatty. That skull is just so... bizarre. There was also an El Greco that I really liked. And other stuff. I'll have to go back... David and I also went to the Canada Store (well, the Store for Sad Homesick Commonwealthies). I almost bought Cheerios (they don't have regular Cheerios here!) but at £4.95 a box, I couldn't justify it. We continued on to the Maple Leaf, the Canadian pub near Covent Garden. We were disappointed that their kitchen wasn't open so we couldn't do poutine... but we did do beer: Sleeman's honey brown for me, Molson Dry for David. Then supper at the Thai Pin, then more drinking somewhere, then... okay, fine, I'll admit it, streaming Internet tv and pizza back at BBB.

It was good. London treated me well. David and Ariana are lovely hosts. There are photos of these adventures on Flickr.