I like the title of my post today - it makes me feel like a reporter, like Ernest Hemingway.
Anyway, I am in London! Holy cow, that still feels weird to say/write. I haven't been here for twelve years!
The trip here was relatively uneventful. I did cry just a little when my plane took off from Charleston towards Atlanta for the very first leg of travel. Luckily, the man sitting next to me was dozing at the time, so no one saw me sniffle. The overnight flight from Atlanta to Heathrow wasn't bad either. It wasn't a full flight so I had a little two-seater to myself.
Of course, I didn't go right to sleep on the plane. The novelty of watching a movie while miles up in the sky has never worn off for me, so I searched through the list to find something I could watch guilt-free (i.e. Charles would NEVER want to watch it with me). I settled on Eat, Pray, Love, as I am a closet Julia Robert fan (come on, you know you love the Pretty Woman, too!), and it wasn't horrible, at least not thematically. You know, travel the world, find yourself, fall in love - I can understand it, I think. Plus, I got to see Bali, so now I am determined to go there some day. Charles, add it to my list of places to go.
Anyway, I finally landed in London, just a bit on the late side, and wandered down to Customs, where I fumbled through the Q and A session with the customs agent.
Her: What are you here for?
Me: I'm visiting my brother.
Her: Is he a permanent resident?
Me: Ummm...I don't know? Wait, yes, I *think* he is.
Her: How so? On what basis?
Me: Umm...I don't know? Oh, wait, I think his partner is a citizen, and they're all legally married.
I'm surprised they let me in.
But they did, and I met up with Daniel and we took the longest, most ass-backwards journey to find his flat. Apparently, the London Underground system has been shutting down pieces of itself every weekend, wreaking havoc on those of us taking cross-city journeys. It took us over two hours to get to East London, but we finally made it, and then we ate lots of curry. YUM!
We stayed pretty low-key for the rest of the day as I was pretty much wrecked from all the travel. Daniel and I went to the grocery - one thing I've noticed already in London is that they have LOTS more canned foods. Like, canned macaroni and cheese, canned Shepherd's pie, etc. It sort of grosses me out, but I imagine it goes back to what one guy told me last night - that "the war" is still a really important piece of the British psyche, and so it makes sense that they would have almost everything canned so they can stock up in the event of an emergency.
Still, though...hot dogs in a jar? *Shudder*
I am really enjoying being in a city again. I like the whole "take a subway for a while, then walk 30 minutes to reach your destination" thing, even though it's cold and rainy. I also like the diversity. It's almost rare to hear people speaking English here. I've heard what I assume is Russian, Polish, Spanish, French, Italian...you name it, I've possibly heard it already.
I am also enjoying watching the fashion choices of today's young Londoners. It's pretty funny. So far I've seen a chick rocking some purple jeans and pink LA Gear high-tops (the kind I'd have KILLED for when I was eight years old), and lots of cut-off denim shorts (jorts, anyone??) with tights. The skirts here are definitely shorter, and the shoes are definitely taller. Seriously, I'd break my ankle wearing some of the high heels I've seen girls wearing while booking down the street.
Oh, and punk-ish London boys really crack me up with their mowhawks and their boots and (argh! really!) their tapered, gathered, skinny jeans. It's hysterical!
Anyway, that's about it so far. I slept for about 10 hours last night (thank you, Melatonin!!), and am feeling ready to face the cold, rainy London day to do some sightseeing!
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Meanwhile, back at my ranch...Charles and Zoe have not yet imploded, which is FABULOUS! We skyped last night, and Zoe put on a dance-party-show for me, and I loved every second of seeing her bounce around. So all is well in Charleston, so far as I know, even though I'm not there to see it. I miss my babies.
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