Jolly ol' England

Trip Start Nov 29, 2006
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Trip End Jul 23, 2007


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Thursday, June 14, 2007

I landed in London in the afternoon, and though a bit cloudy, I was really really really happy to be greeted at the airport by my friend Sarah.  Sarah is a friend from San Francisco - we studied for the California Bar Exam together and then took a trip to Alaska 2 years ago to kayak and get lost in the wilderness (the latter being the unplanned part of the trip!) - and she moved to London a few months ago to live with her boyfriend, Andy.  We all met Andy and friends in Las Vegas two years ago on the dance floor at a club - he and his 10 friends were all dressed as vicars and nuns - quite a sight to behold at a las vegas club - on a stag party.  Anyway - two years later they are a lovely couple living south of London in a place called Guildford (was told it was the filming location of the recent Cameron Diaz movie "Holiday").  We spent a very mellow day tending to Sarah's garden, visiting the local doctor's office (I have "acute wheezing bronchitis") a day at the horseraces (see photos) and dayS shopping!! at the horse tracks
at the horse tracks
 !

After a few days, I headed north to London where I stayed with my friend Kim and her husband Dan - Kim was an old roommate of mine in Boston.  Their apartment is 2 doors down from Jimmy Choo's only store - the others are run by his former business partner, but here Jimmy himself sits behind the desk in the store and will make you a pair of shoes for something like 1000 pounds, which with today's exchange rate is right around US $62,453.  Seriously. This place is breaking me.  Anyway, their place is also around the corner from Tony Blair's new apartment he will take next week after he leaves 10 Downing Street, and a 5 minute walk from Madge's house (she wasn't home  - or at least didn't respond to our renditions of her "Like a Virgin" or "Lucky Star" hits sung at the top of our lungs outside her windows...).  It's smack in the middle of the action, and I've been all over London with them and my friend Theo (friend I made in Vietnam) including a Sunday afternoon on Brick Lane (loads of outdoor bars), the Tate Modern Art Museum, Primrose Hill, various parks, and of course, more shopping!!!  One of the highlights was also going to a show, called "Boeing, Boeing" which was translated from French, about a man engaged to three different flight attendants, and whose life is turned upside down due to these super jumbo fast boeing jets, as the fiancees each want to/can spend more time with him.  Good time! 

It's been spectacular to see familiar faces and to finally really relax knowing I no longer had to hunt for accomodation, could figure my way around on public transportation, and can finally understand most conversations going on around me -  though in the end, much of it is banal stuff anyway, but still, nice to be back on familiar grounds!!  Uncle John, still no sightings of Rick Steves, but I am still keeping my eyes peeled ............
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Comments

sillichick
sillichick on Jun 15, 2007 at 03:37AM

Dressing for the Races
I thought maybe that woman in the hat was part of a movie being filmed there or something. Y'know, Seabiscuit era or whatever.

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