Oh Bugger!

I need to back up. Way back, to several weekends ago. Yes...London! I arrived on a Friday evening, having taken the EuroStar train under the English Channel. It's rather anti-climactic, really, as you're only in the tunnel for 20 minutes, and the rest of the ride is flat and without much to look at. But after only 2 hours and 30 minutes, it's really cool to go from Paris to London. From speaking French to English. From drinking wine to pints of hand-pulled ale. From eating beef and duck to fish and chips. My friend Matt booked us a place in Notting Hill, and I was thinking of Hugh Grant when I went to a pub for some dinner since Matty didn't arrive until after 9:00 pm. Since I arrived at the pub alone and was told that seating was fend-for-yourself, I joined a man sitting by himself. Jules ended up being a lot of fun to talk to, and his friend Hy-Ann arrived, so the three of us got involved in a quiz game until Matt met me there. Saturday morning Matty and I strolled the length of the Portobello Road market. This is the market in the opening scene of "Notting Hill" the movie, and Hugh's narration describing the market was perfect. We went from antique cameras and boxing gloves to army gear to produce and bakery, and finally we hit the vintage section sprawled under the tube tracks. We split a colossal Belgian chocolate brownie and left after an unpleasant run-in with a laundromat worker who didn't like that we ducked into her warm space to look at the map. We then went to Harrods, strolled the undescribable food market, bought a late lunch and then wanted to go find a park to eat in. All the parks were private and gated. (Yes, I thought of Hugh again!) We finally found a church with a small courtyard on the side, and we ate until attacked my pigeons. That night we went to see "Blood Brothers," a British musical and ate Indian food after the show. On Sunday we saw the touristy sights--Abbey Road, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Thames, Picadilly Circus, etc. We enjoyed a pint and "bangers and mash" at a pub, ran into the Chinese New Year celebration. That night we saw "Munich," and called it up early. Monday called for a split--I shopped Notting Hill (terrific boutiques and vintage shops!) while Matt went back to Picadilly. We met up for lunch and then realized I'd miss my train if I didn't hurry!

Okay, so that's the whirl-wind breakdown of my trip to London!! There was more, of course...like doing "jazz hands" on the way to the movie, our wonderful breakfasts in the downstairs garden room, getting too many handshakes and not enough space from a drunk man at the first pub who supposedly spoke 7 languages and started out loving Americans but ended up cursing at us when he left. There were discussions about class and family ties after the musical which surprised us by ending on a sad note...and not enough discussions (ahem, Matt) after "Munich" about identity, nationality and the importance of a home. The trip was a fantastic idea, and one that Matt has been proposing for months. I'm happy to have spent some time there, although it's defininately not a city for only 3 days! Good thing I'm only a 2+ hour train ride away!