london, day 5

we celebrated our last day in london by sleeping in. when we eventually rolled out of bed, got ready and packed, we were off to grab a bite to eat. though we were both craving breakfast, it was after 11, so we knew we would likely end up settling for lunch.

we headed back to the covent garden area, as there had seemed to be a lot of eateries. consistent with our previous experience there, the area was lively and energetic. the sun was out in full force and it was an absolute stunner of a day.

we found the perfect little cafe, and were thrilled to find that they served breakfast 24/7. could this day get any better? we enjoyed a leisurely brunch, and i learned that bacon is ham, and pancakes are crepes. i didn’t care about the terminology, it was all delicious.

after eating we were on to our one sightseeing stop for the day--st. paul’s cathedral. we had passed it on saturday night, and it was a gorgeous view as we walked across the millenium bridge. just a sidenote about that--the millenium bridge is a pedestrian bridge crossing the thames. when it was built, the traffic was so heavy that the bridge was unintentionally swaying. they had to shut it down for several months and refortify the structure before opening it back up.

at any rate, we were interested in seeing the interior of the cathedral. for whatever reason, it was the first question out of all our new-found friends mouth; ‘have you seen st. paul’s yet?’ it always says something to me when the locals hold a place in high regard. and it did not disappoint.

because of our sheer laziness and time constraints, we opted not to pay the 9 pounds for the full run of house, but we were able to get a good glimpse at it from the entry way, and it was magnificent.

after spending some time there, it was time for me to head back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and be off to the airport. deb’s flight left four hours after mine, so she had some time to kill, and we said our farewells at the tube entrance.

i made it back to the hotel, picked up my bags, and grabbed a cab to take me to paddington station. it was my first and last time in a cab in london, and it is quite a different experience than any other place i have been. it cost me about 6 pounds to get to paddington station, which made the decision to not try and drag my luggage up and down tube station steps, absolutely the right call. from there it was back on to the heathrow express.

i made my flight without incident, and was happy to come home to my faithful canine companion, but sad to have to return to real life.

it was an incredible trip, and perhaps the most incredible thing of all was realizing once again how ideally suited deb and i are as travel companions. this is the first time the two of us have traveled internationally without also having other folks with us. i was slightly concerned that the close quarters and 24/7 interaction would have us at eachother’s throats by the end of the trip, but it was not the case at all. in fact, when deb called on tuesday to say that she missed me, i was not surprised, as i felt the same way. assuming i do one day get married, i am going to have to take a couple of trips with my husband-to-be before i will be able to commit to eternity!

i am finally through the busiest two months i can remember in my career, and not having another event until january is giving me some room to breathe again.

i have thought a lot about the london trip since returning, and it seems to have had an interesting effect on both deb and i. you may remember that the two of us were supposed to go to montreal back in august. i ended up not being able to go, and deb went with a friend of hers from ny. it ended up being a blessing in disguise for her friend, who had just gotten out of a relationship, and desperately needed a distraction. it was then that they started planning a trip to london. deb had invited me, but i knew i would not be able to go. about a month later her friend backed out of london, and things fell into place so that i could.

when that happened, it was my feeling that this trip was important for some reason. that it had a purpose. but the result is not one i would have expected. i have been looking for a change for some time now, and i am now seriously considering moving to london. it would be temporary, maybe a year, maybe three, but though i have never been a big city girl, it was comfortable even in it's newness. i have always stuck by the fact that i would never live abroad--i love living in america entirely too much. ask me what has changed, and i won’t be able to tell you, except that as crazy as it may sound, it doesn’t feel crazy at all.

i also realized that the reason i am still where i am, despite having wanted to leave for some time, is fear. as much as i desire a change, at least now, i know what i can expect on a daily basis. i’m afraid that if i leave, i won’t be able to find the right job, or i won’t have the energy to make new friends, etc. etc. up ‘till now, the fear has overridden the need for progress, but now that i have been able to call it what it is, i’m hoping i can get over it and just get on with my life already!

there seems to be quite a few event planning jobs in london that would pay enough for me to be able to live reasonably comfortably, but i’m all about connections, so i’ll take any leads anyone may have to offer...and, i guess we’ll just see how this all plays out!

if you are interested in reading the travel report, in order, click here. and once again, the photos can be found here.

ooh. ooh. ooh. one random thing i almost forgot! they have this really common dessert there that is fairly incredible, called bannoffee. it's a bananna toffee pie, and holy hannah, i've got to find a recipe!

london, day 4

well, my working weekend is almost over--thank heavens. yesterday was another rough day. though i managed not to get yelled at again, there were a bunch of little things that just weren’t quite right. as a guest, i can see why someone would love this place. as a meeting planner, i will never come here again unless ordered too.

as a guest, the highlight of the weekend was slipping away yesterday for a hot stone massage. it’s been years since i’ve had a (professional) massage and my recollection was that they are either painful or do nothing. but what the hey, it’s not my dime, right? i’ve been hearing and reading about hot stone massages for some time now, and if i was going to get a massage, it was the only choice. basically it is a swedish massage that incorporates the use of hot basalt stones. the theory is that the heat relaxes the muscles so that the massage can better penetrate, without hurting.

they place large stones in key positions on your body, on your forehead, under your hands, and several following the line between the center of your chest to your naval. then they proceed with the swedish, using the stones as tools to knead and massage. simply put, it was incredible. my mind has definitely been changed about massages, but i don’t know that i will ever go back to just a regular ol’ swedish again!

just a few more hours of meetings today before the four hour bus ride home, and getting home is going to be heaven.

in the meantime, on to london, day 4.

sunday morning was by far the hardest to roll out of bed. the hotel had a unique wake-up call system. the phone would ring, and an automated voice would tell you this was your wake up call, blah blah blah, then you can either press to get another one in ten minutes, or just hang up. a few minutes later a live person would call to ask if you had gotten your wake up call. now, if you chose the button that would give you ten more minutes, the phone would ring again and the process repeat. i so did not want to roll out of bed that morning, that i kept trying to fool the system, but realized that the automated wake up call required some sort of verbal response. if you just hung it up, it would immediately call back. smart technology.

several wake up calls later, i finally decided we should probably get out of bed.

we had the morning to kill before heading to church and meeting up with deb’s friend justin, and it seemed like the perfect time to go visit the british museum. we knew we’d be a little crunched for time, but since my only real interest was the rosetta stone and the elgin marbles, i figured we would be okay.

it was a gray day, raining on and off, though never very heavily, and we made our way by underground to the museum.

as we paused to ask strangers to take a photo of us outside the museum trip, their british accents, and their pleasant willingness to oblige, had deb and i commenting yet again how courteous the brits are, as a culture. both knowing that if we were in our home cities trying to enjoy an afternoon at the museum, we may have acquiesced but would have been annoyed. this experience was indicative of the entire trip, really. we found the locals to be extremely well-mannered, though not stuffy-- very friendly, and very helpful. whether it was someone helping with directions, or tube employee helping to deal with a faulty card, there was never any impatience or the slightest hint of annoyance.

proceeding on through the museum doors, we were immediately struck with the architecture. the great courtyard, which is two square acres, used to be an open air courtyard sitting between the two sides of the museum (although i’m not sure if it was a museum then). the courtyard is now covered with a stunning roof that still allows for a plethora of light. i think it’s safe to say that neither of us had ever seen anything quite like it.



The courtyard was one of the lost spaces of London, hidden from public view since 1857. The Great Court has increased public space in the Museum by forty per cent, allowing visitors to move freely around the Main floor for the first time in 150 years. Once in the Great Court, visitors can choose from a number points of entry into the galleries. There is now direct access west into the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, east into the King's Library and north into the new Welcome Gallery of Ethnography. Inside the courtyard itself, two monumental staircases encircle the drum of the Reading Room and lead to the Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery, and the Court Restaurant. From the restaurant level a bridge link takes visitors into the upper galleries of the Museum.

after several minutes of wonder and awe, we moved on towards the two priorities for the morning--the rosetta stone first and foremost. my interest in this probably goes back to my earlier confession that history possesses a certain amount of romance to me, and this tablet is no exception. i’m sure most of you have heard of the rosetta stone, but for those who may not know what it actually is, it’s a stone, that was found in rosetta. ☺ okay, really, it is an ancient slab of stone inscribed with the same passage of writing in two egyptian language scripts and in classical greek. it’s origin dates back to 196 BC, and it was discovered by the french in 1799. translating the stone yielded a guide of sorts, which assisted in understanding many previously undecipherable examples of hieroglyphic writing. basically, it was a key to unlock previously locked translation barriers.

and seeing the stone was no disappointment. deb, who i think had been curious as to what the fascination with a piece of rock was, commented that it was ‘way cooler’ than she had expected. i have to agree, even though my expectations were higher. yes, it is just a big piece of stone with carvings i don’t understand, but the writings are so carefully inscribed, and the knowledge of the years it has seen make it difficult to remain unimpressed.

following the rosetta stone, we were on to the elgin marbles, which, fortunately--due to our time constraints--were in the same wing. the elgin marbles, also referred to as the parthenon marbles, include a large collection of sculptures brought to britain from the parthenon.

their ownership is highly controversial, as some say that thomas bruce, the 7th earl of elgin, had no right to remove them. the greeks obviously want them back. and so it goes. but until they get that worked out, they are on display at the museum. wandering through the halls deb and i could not help but be excited about future trips (as of yet unplanned) to italy and greece.

we were running short on time, which in the end was a great disappointment. though there were only two must sees, as we made our way towards the exit, it was clear there was much more i should see here. we paused for a few minutes before departing to gawk at the reading room in the center of the great courtyard. it is basically a giant round library. i’ve seen movies and heard tell of libraries like this, but a part of me must have doubted their existence, because it was an absolute shock to the senses to see all those books gathered in one place. unfortunately, pictures can not accurately portray the size, but trust me, it was huge.

eventually, we pulled ourselves together and headed back to the hotel to get ready for church. we had planned to go all along, as it is always fun to visit other wards, but had learned the night before from matthew that this is the only singles ward in europe. so our curiosity was peeked even further.

we underestimated the necessary travel time and were late arriving. as we waited for the sacrament to finish, deb’s friend justin arrived, and greetings were exchanged before entering the chapel for the remainder of the meeting. the congregation was probably about 150 people or so, which given that it is the only singles ward, was a tad surprising. it was a reminder that no matter how much we complain about the lack of dating options where we are, we should in fact be grateful.

there was an american speaker and two english ones, and though i’m still not entirely sure what the unifying theme was, they were good talks.

after church, deb said hello to a few people who had spent time in new york at one point or another, and though we weren’t really sure how much time justin had planned to spend with us, he was ready to head back to the hotel with us to change, and do some meandering.

another tidbit we had learned from matthew the night before was that westminster abbey holds organ recitals every sunday evening, which are open to the public. since we had missed ‘visiting hours’ the day before, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to see the cathedral.

we stopped for a quick bite to eat, knowing that we would be having a larger dinner later on, and headed on towards our goal. when we arrived, we came upon the same phone booth we had taken photos in the day before--which had been lost on my wiped memory card. it seemed only natural to try again, and thanks to justin’s long arms, we were able to get some fun self-portraits

at the abbey we could not find any information about the recital, so we entered the gift shop in hope of getting some. while there, we ran into an acquaintance of justin’s , who ironically, he had been talking about only an hour before. an attorney from boston, and england transplant of about a year and a half, he was there with his visiting sister for the organ recital. the merry bunch waited in the queue until we were allowed in, and found the setting to be absolutely stunning.

there were four organ pieces, the first and last of which were not that pleasant. but the middle two were absolutely incredible. i was so grateful that matthew had told us of this unique experience!

after westminster abbey, we had some time to kill, before justin’s friend ian met us for dinner. i could tell that justin was a bit at a loss, since it was clear that we had covered a lot of ground during our time there. it was sunday night and most things were closed, and it was obvious that he wasn’t quite sure what to do with us. in my head, i was running through the list of activities i had compiled, and struck on the perfect one. abbey road. it’s just a road after all--it would be open, and i really did want to see it. he loved that idea and said that he had a friend nearby who was having some people over, so we could make a quick stop in there as well.

during the longish tube ride to st. john’s wood, justin was a cornucopia of information. when passing a subway performer who was extremely talented, i recalled that the day before there had been an incredible violinist performing as well. he told us that there used to be so many performers that they all clashed with each other, so the government decided to paint little arcs or ‘stages’ to designate performance areas, and allow people to sign up for time slots. if you are performing in a station, it must be under those circumstances. i thought that was quite brilliant actually, and from what i had heard, these ‘performers’ had serious talent.

we also learned that they are starting to enclose the tube tracks because of too many jumpers. the stations that have not yet been enclosed have suicide trenches dug between the racks, so if you want to kill yourself, you have to lay down on one of the actual tracks.

he told us about the man who died in his flat, and about a really incredible sounding play we were bummed not to have seen. basically, we picked up a lot of random interesting information from him. every once in awhile he would say something, and i would have to ask him what he meant. i have forgotten many of them, but i do remember he used the term ‘round the houses’ to mean the opposite of getting to the point. i was also hihgly amused to learn that they often refer to regular coke as 'full fat'. this journey to abbey road had turned into quite the learning experience!

when we arrived at the crosswalk of fame, justin looked at me and said ‘we’re here. is this what you expected?’

it was. however, what i didn’t expect was how busy the street would be. there were flashing lights on either side of the crosswalk, which supposedly means that cars have to stop if you want to cross. but i admit, i was slightly embarrassed about forcing cars, no doubt carrying locals, to stop, while we attempted to get the abbey road photo. it was made even more difficult by the fact that deb had never seen the cover. justin was doing his best to direct, and being a total sport, but eventually we all gave up.

we headed around the corner to his friends house. they were members of the singles ward, and when we arrived it appeared that the rest of the ward was visiting. justin was as surprised as we were. it was a bit overwhelming--i’ll admit it. it’s difficult enough walking into a party where you don’t know anybody when it’s your turf. but when it’s someone else’s, there is a certain protective defensive thing that happens--especially with the girls.

but, we made the best of it. i met a girl from british columbia which reminded me of something i had read recently. apparently there is such a problem with public drunken urination at night in vancouver, that they are installing public urinals. these urinals are at street level, and completely innocuous during the day, but at night rise up out of the ground. there are no doors, so when i say public, i mean public. i guess they figure that if you are going to pee in public anyway, it’s better than on the street.

as i was having this conversation with bc girl, justin commented that they have them in london. i was shocked. in all of wandering time in london, deb and i had not seen one. or maybe we had, and it did not occur to us what we were really looking at.

we mingled a bit more and i ended up in a conversation with the hostess, louise. i immediately took to her, and all of the sudden felt sad that we would not have more time there. but ian had arrived and it was time to head out for dinner.

with a couple more in tow, we tried abbey road again. we were terrible at taking direction and the end result was like night and day (no pun intended) from the original.

on the way, as luck would have it, we passed a public urinal! and bless his heart, without prompting, justin popped in so i could snap a picture.

in considering the food options, they decided our best bet was to head to soho. a notoriously gay area of london. though i had been trying to steer the group in another direction, sheer logic landed us at an ‘english’ restaurant. i was afraid of english food, i’ll be honest. and to date we had had some really good food. i didn’t want that spoiled on our last night. as we perused the menu on the door, a young man dressed completely in black and with more hair product than i’ve ever used, came to the step, put one hand on his hip, looked us up and down, waved one finger as if to point out our unworthy appearance(although i felt like we were a fairly attractive group!), and said ‘no.’ i admit it, i was not quite sure what was happening. then he said ‘just kidding.’ in the lispiest, most affected voice i’ve ever heard. it was fabulous! and i can say one thing about our london experience--it certainly was diverse!

contrary to my greatest fear, dinner was awesome. the service was good, the food delicious, and the company was excellent. there is not much more to ask for from an evening as far as i’m concerned!

dinner marked the conclusion of the evening as justin and ian both had work the next day, and it was already late. the four of us walked back to our hotel where we took a couple of parting shots and said our farewells.

london, day 3

saturday morning.

we got off to a late start due to the late night before, and eventually made our way out of the hotel. the first item on the agenda was portobello road in notting hill, but when we walked out of the hotel, we were met with miserably heavy winds and rain. it was absolutely awful, and not exactly ideal for an outdoor market! we decided that we needed to reevaluate, and stopped in the corner pret for a bite to eat.

we ate. and we discussed. we knew that we could either a) suck it up and hope the rain would stop. we had been in london long enough to know that weather was fickle and could change on a dime, or b) try and hit the market on sunday. but we knew that it would be tight for us to make it there, and to church.

we settled on option a and wrapped ourselves up as best we could. umbrellas were of no use as the wind seemed to be fond of turning them inside out. fortunately, we were quickly in the tube station, which was absolutely overrun with people. we reminded ourselves that it was the weekend, and waited in line for entirely too long to get our day passes.

when we arrived at the market, the rain had eased to a minor sprinkle. we found ourselves looking at stalls and shops and people as far as we could see. since neither deb or i had been feeling the shopping urge (probably due in large part to the terrible exchange rate), this was primarily a ‘look and see’ outing. it was extremely crowded. crowded enough that it was uncomfortable. it seemed the weather had not deterred anyone else either. (i do have to say that portobello road was the one place we heard a high concentration of british accents. i had been disappointed until then, that the majority of passers by on the street, restaurant diners, etc. had seemed to be american or eastern european.)

we wandered down the interminable road and eventually the sun came out. conveniently we passed a stall selling sunglasses shortly thereafter, and i picked up a pair, having left mine at home. after that stall, we also happened on one selling some cute handbags, so i picked one of those up as well. that would be the entire summation of the shopping i did in london.

we made our way back to the tube station, and waited for what seemed like forever, before a train finally came. then we were on to buckingham palace. after having seen windsor castle, buckingham palace seemed to me like the ‘country home’. it was much smaller, and not nearly as aesthetically pleasing. but it’s buckingham palace, so we took a great deal of photos and enjoyed the sunshine.

from there, it was on to westminster abbey. after getting off the tube, we almost immediately saw big ben, or at least the clock tower that houses big ben (as that name refers specifically to the bell inside). we took the obligatory phone booth photos and were on to westminster abbey, where we were dismayed to find that we had missed the ‘open to the public’ hours.

there was nothing to do but head to the next item on the agenda, shakespeare’s globe. when we got off the underground we found ourself bankside of the thames, and enjoyed wandering through a local food market while simultaneously searching for a restroom. everything smelled incredible, but we would soon be joining a friend of deb’s friend for dinner, so we quashed our cravings.

we arrived at the globe near 3:30 and purchased tickets for the 4pm tour. once again, as been typical of our experience thus far, there were no lines whatsoever. i was shocked, especially because we had been hitting the ‘touristy’ places. but since i had been a little panicked about the possibility of missing my #1 priority, i was relieved, and felt a tad guilty at having rushed deb throughout the day.

at 4, the group gathered, and the tour was led by a lady who i assumed to be one of the actors. she was incredible. since the globe only runs performances may-september, i assume that several of the performers conduct tours in the off-season. and when i said before that i was not one for recreations, this would have to be the one exception.

it was not rebuilt on the exact site of the original but across the street, due to another building already having the place. and it was fascinating to see this open air theater. we learned that plays are performed, rain or shine, and were told that even when it rains, the ‘groundlings’, or the ones standing up and getting rained on, had a grand old time. we also learned that due to the history of fires in london, thatched roofs are not allowed--with this one exception. we were amused to see the sprinklers on top of the roof.

being at the globe was a strange experience for me. it was completely unexpected that it would make me emotional, but it did. theater is my first love, but i never had the willingness to sacrifice my lifestyle (be a starving artist) to try and make a career out of it. i’ve landed in a career that as far as my particular interests in theater (stage management and directing) go, is second best. but it still can’t quite compare.

unfortunately, due to the nature of my job, i’ve been unable to commit to any sort of production for many years now. rehearsal schedules are usually fairly intense, and bound to conflict with one or more of my events. being in that theater, having our guide recite shakespeare in her native british accent, reminded me of what i have been missing. i think it is safe to say that despite being slightly bittersweet, the globe was most certainly the highlight of my trip.

at any rate, the tour was semi-surreal, and made even more so when, while we were sitting on the third tier, it started thundering and lightning followed closely by heavy rain. it gave us a good taste of what seeing a show might be like there in the summer.

after the tour, we headed over to the tate modern museum. the museum was created six years ago out of a disused power station. i am not a huge fan of modern art, but it was the proscribed meeting place for deb’s friend of a friend. when we arrived, i was in awe of several spiral ‘sculptures’ winding in and through eachother from floor to ceiling of the huge building. upon closer inspection, we learned that they were actually slides. wait, did i say i wasn’t a fan of modern art? well, i’m a fan of anything that can defines children’s playground equipment on crack, as art.

the slides are part of a temporary exhibit:



For Carsten Höller, the experience of sliding is best summed up in a phrase by the French writer Roger Caillois as a ‘voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind’. The slides are impressive sculptures in their own right, and you don’t have to hurtle down them to appreciate this artwork. What interests Höller, however, is both the visual spectacle of watching people sliding and the ‘inner spectacle’ experienced by the sliders themselves, the state of simultaneous delight and anxiety that you enter as you descend.

To date Höller has installed six smaller slides in other galleries and museums, but the cavernous space of the Turbine Hall offers a unique setting in which to extend his vision. Yet, as the title implies, he sees it as a prototype for an even larger enterprise, in which slides could be introduced across London, or indeed, in any city. How might a daily dose of sliding affect the way we perceive the world? Can slides become part of our experiential and architectural life?

Höller has undertaken many projects that invite visitor interaction, such as Flying Machine (1996) that hoists the user through the air, Upside-Down Goggles (1994/2001) that modify vision, and Frisbee House (2000) - a room full of Frisbees. The slides, like these earlier works, question human behaviour, perception and logic, offering the possibility for self-exploration in the process.

before researching even further though, it was time to meet matthew at the bottom floor. we easily found one another, although neither he nor deb had any idea what the other looked like, and the three of us wandered through the galleries.

then we decided we check out the slides. or rather, deb had seen the look of glee on my face when i realized what they were, and wanting it to be a good experience for me too (she loves modern art), she suggested we find out what the deal was. apparetly, the ‘deal’ was that the museum offered free timed tickets to ride the slides, but they had all ‘sold out’ for the day. one of the slides did not require a ticket--it was the shortest one--so we decided to give it a shot. wheeeee! it really made me wish we had been able to get on the four story one!

our stomachs started rumbling and matthew asked us if we had anything in mind. deb and i had previously talked about trying to find indian food, since the culture is well-established there. so, matthew took us to the brick lane area, east london, jack-the-ripper territory. we found a street which housed nothing but indian restaurants. and at each restaurant, there was a ‘host’ attempting to draw you in by offering free drinks, a discount, and so on. but they were not content to simply stand in the doorway to solicit your business...they followed us, sometimes as far as two blocks! it was unlike anything i’ve ever seen, and the only comparison i can make are the ports of call on a cruise ship. each port has it’s own theme..some selling necklaces, some hair braiding..but they are determined to have your business.

we finally settled on one, and it was delicious--the non in particular (i think i spelled that wrong). and after dinner, which by the way, did not come with free drinks or a discount, we decided to head towards covent garden in search of dessert.

when we got off the tube, i immediately loved the neighborhood. i quickly decided that were i to live in london, this is where i would live. it was then that i learned that i was in the theater district. no wonder i had loved it!

the energy there was vibrant festive. being in london this time of year had certainly been a good choice. no lines, holiday lights, and even the weather, which as mentioned previously, fickle, was still fairly moderate, averaging high 50s.

we found a french bistro of sorts that could fit us in on a busy saturday evening, and enjoyed delicious desserts, and more mint tea. even though it was lively, the atmosphere still felt relaxed, and we lingered over our tasty confections.

both deb and i were fairly exhausted. i was trying to find an interactive map to post here to show you how much ground we covered that day, with no luck. so, should you ever happen to look at a map of london and trace our route, i think you’ll be impressed.

despite our fatigue, the night was not over yet. we wandered over to trafalgar square where matthew pointed out the most disturbing thing. there was a statue of a pregnant woman with no arms and legs. that may not sound too disturbing in and of itself, but consider that the reason the statue came to be, is that they (whoever ‘they’ is) felt that there were too many male statues at trafalgar square and they needed a woman. it disturbs me that the one they chose is armless and legless, despite my support of its inspiration.

after trafalgar square, we headed over to piccadilly circus, the times square of london, and found that new york has it all over london when it comes to big screens and high electric bills.

finally, it was time to head back to the hotel. matthew graciously walked us ‘home’ and we said our farewells. he had been an absolute gem to show us around, and he reminded me so much of my friend justin, that i found him completely endearing.

it was a full day, and we were more than spent. it didn’t take long before we were passed out in our fabulous hotel beds.

as i mentioned before, as a result of a technical glitch, i lost all of my photos from day 3, but fortunately deb took a few. the irony is, i made her take about a dozen or so photos of me at the globe, all of which were on my camera. she took one on hers, so that is the only proof i have that we were there;)

london, day 2

wow. this morning was rough. which is extremely unfortunate since last night was relaxing and decadent. i ordered room service, and spent entirely too long in the biggest bath tub i have ever seen. dang, sometimes i really wish i was married! at any rate, this morning i received an email from my ceo that would start the day off on the wrong foot.

when we booked this place, there were a limited number of king rooms available. i needed 12 and could only get them by booking 6 ‘regular’ rooms and 6 ‘club’ rooms. when i asked what the difference was, i was told that the club level rooms were slightly larger.

originally, i had them assigned by hierarchy, which is a feat in and of itself, as many of the attendees are unilateral on the org chart. as we got closer and spouses dropped out, we ended up with six couples and six singles. since the only difference was a slight one in room size, it made sense to me that two people sharing a room should have the larger one, so i revamped the rooming list.

well, this morning’s email indicated some feathers had been ruffled and asked that i try and fix it by upgrading the rest. it turned out that the only difference was not a ‘slightly’ larger room--the club rooms are two times (if not more) the size of the regular rooms, and come with butlers, who will do anything for you, including drawing your bath.

i knew that it was not possible to upgrade the rest based on availability, but that is actually beside the point. i was in the meeting room early, when one of the ‘slighted’ participants arrived. also the only woman in the group of execs. i told her i understood that i owed her an apology, and proceeded to try and explain the logic, while indicating that my intentions were most certainly not to cause offense or unhappiness. i didn’t get it out that eloquently, however, as she continued to yell at me about how this is not our corporate culture, and it’s beyond offensive, and her husband doesn’t want to come hang out with the wives of the other execs. i am not a work crier. i’m a life crier, but when it comes to work, i hate the idea of women and tears. this was the closest i have ever come to losing that composure. i managed to retain it long enough to say simply, i know it can’t be fixed but for what it is worth, i truly am sorry.

i spent all morning in a funk. this is someone with whom i have had a good professional relationship. i have a good reputation with her, and even more than the yelling, i was devastated that a situation had arisen which would taint her’s or anyone else’s high esteem of me. it wasn’t that i felt i had made a mistake. given the same circumstances, i would make the same choice. but i was extremely sad that at least in one case, the result had been so unfortunate.

shortly before the lunch break i headed down to the room and was sitting in the hallway when this woman came out of the room. she didn’t see me and i heard her ask someone where i was. so i immediately jumped up and she told me she needed to talk to me. the first order of business was to ask for help in changing a spa appointment, but then she proceeded to apologize. she told me that she was not upset with me, that she understood the logic, but she had been venting because a couple of the club level folks had been extremely rude about it, and giving her a hard time about how her husband should have come. she apologized for using me as her ventee, and expressed her distaste with these folks (whose positions shall remain unidentified). in the end, i stopped feeling bad for me, and started feeling bad for her. of course her husband wouldn’t want to come spend the weekend with five corporate wives. i don’t think anyone would think that sounded like a great idea, yet here she was being taunted and goaded because of it. i also understand some of the things said to her were not even as harsh as some of the things said to some of the other ‘regular’ roomers. since one of them is gay, i did not even want to know what might have been said. so needless to say, i have a bit of a nasty taste in my mouth this weekend. i’m hoping that my mani/pedi tonight and my hot stone massage tomorrow might help wash it away!

ok. on to london, day 2!

deb and i did something we both like to avoid. we took a tour. like, an all day, hop on a bus kind of tour. in principle, i am opposed to them. i like the freedom of exploring a new place at my own pace, but in this case (gee that is a lot of rhyming) i wanted to see stonehenge and was sans transportation.

deb and i had settled on a tour that would take us to windsor, bath, and stonehenge, and we were up entirely too early for our jet-lagged bodies.

the bus picked us up in front of our hotel, and following a couple of other stops, we were on our way to windsor. the ride was beautiful, and the opportunity to check out the scenery beyond the city was worth it.

we began to get inklings that our tour guide was a bit of a whack job, as she subtlely (or not so much) began weaving political commentary through her dialogue. we quickly learned her stance on homosexuality (the elton john jokes made it clear she was not a fan), and her position on the monarchy, and of course government in general. deb and i had to laugh when she started talking about how there were rumors of little boxes to put in your car that would keep track of what roads you were on and charge you accordingly, and a ‘private’ road that you would have to pay to drive on. her distaste for this ‘big brother is watching’ resemblance was evident. deb and i both commented about our love of ez-passes!

the drive to windsor was approximately 45 minutes, and when we arrived it started raining. the morning had been gray, but deb and i didn’t necessarily pay attention to the fact that it was overcast gray and not just early gray, not to mention that we had been spoiled with thursday’s beautiful weather, and neglected to bring our umbrellas along. we stopped in a tourist shop and bought three pound black umbrellas, both deciding we wouldn’t be caught dead with the british flag ones.

we walked up the hill to the castle, and i have to admit, i was impressed. my awe might have been swayed by the fact that prior to this, the only castles i’ve seen have not been ‘working’ castles. in ireland and romania they were in various stages of ruin and disrepair. so it was something else to see this well-manicured, well-kept home.

we wandered around the grounds, the rain stopping for most of the exploring, and eventually made our way inside.

i’ll admit it, i’m not really a fan of ‘home’ tours. this trip forced me to consider why that is. i love history, but wandering through recreated state rooms and bedrooms does nothing for me. ultimately, i came to the conclusion that every era in history, barring the one i live in, has a certain sense of romance to it. or rather, i tend to romanticize them. and when visiting old homes, or even old castles, it is hard to maintain that. there is nothing romantic about going blind because you spend your evenings reading by candlelight. there is nothing romantic about freezing to death because central heating doesn’t exist yet. i love the shapes, and the substance, and the architecture of history, but the recreations, i can do without.

when our time at windsor was done, it was on to stonehenge.

stonehenge. that mythical magical pile of rocks.

our tour guide warned us that it would be smaller than we expected, but when we pulled up i realized that i hadn’t expected any size at all. because it was stonehenge.

my love of historical fiction has seen several appearances of that mysterious place, and it did not disappoint. granted, it really is just a pile of stones, but maybe it is what you bring to it that forms what you take away from it. it was stonehenge that spawned the most gratitude on this thanksgiving trip. i just couldn’t help but be thankful for the opportunities i’ve had. i was in awe realizing just how much these eyes have seen.

while wandering around the site, the rain and wind began to pick up, and it was only a matter of moments before we would have to bid adieu to our 3 pound umbrellas. we took some very cold photos, and my attempts at keeping my straightened hair straight were for naught. but no worries, it was time to return to the bus.

it was then on to the stonehenge inn for lunch. it was a tavern, with tavern food. and that’s pretty much all there is to say about that!

after lunch, we headed towards the final stop of the day...bath. originally, when my co-worker had told me about her day long tour, it was windsor, stonehenge, and oxford, so that’s what i was looking for. in my searching, i came across the bath alternative, and deb cast a heavy vote in that direction. i am so glad!

driving into bath we both fell in love. perhaps one of the reasons we make such great travel companions is that, at least when traveling, we have similar tastes and interests.

i can’t really explain why we loved it, other than i think some places resonate with us more than others. it was much the same feel we had in amsterdam. it was then and only then that we were regretting not having more time to spend.

we wandered through the roman baths, which were impressive, and made us both excited about next year’s planned italy trip. and we wandered the streets a little, stopping at a chocolatier to pick up a few munchies. i was skeptical, because i didn’t really believe that chocolate anywhere could compare to our experience in belgium and france, but it was delectable. it made me realize that it’s just americans (and i’m sure a few other obscure places--say...africa) that can’t do chocolate right!

our time in bath was far too short, and it was time to re-board the bus back to the city. the bus ride, with traffic, ended up being just over 2 1/2 hours, and it had been a long day. i caught a cat nap. deb, who insists that she cannot fall asleep on planes, trains, or automobiles, denied napping, but did say that she ‘lost conciousness’ at one point. i’m sure you can all tell the difference;)

when we arrived back at our hotel, we relaxed for a little while, before deciding that we were hungry. deb was thinking room service, but as tired as we were, i didn’t want to stay in. there are plenty of nights for staying in...at home.

our restaurant criteria is strict. deb is very picky about the atmosphere of a place, and i’m picky about the food options. so, when we settle on one, it has a high probability of being good. but it was really late, and options were somewhat limited. we finally chose a place called pizza express, which was so much more than pizza, and so much less than express. in fact, i think it may have been my favorite meal throughout the trip. pizza express was a misnomer, even though i did have pizza. it was delicious.

we reviewed the possibilities for the next day and drank our mint tea (with actual fresh mint leaves in it), and it was time to rest our weary eyes and lose a little consciousness.

and so it begins...london, day 1

at this moment, i am sitting in my room at nemacolin woodlands in pennsylvania, which is so big that i have to work to see the tv. i could have a party in my bathroom. in fact, i could have a party in my bath tub, which requires a step stool to get in. but seeing as how these offsite work events are just that--work, only i can appreciate my new home away from home--at least for the next few days.

my alarm, phone, and blackberry all started buzzing around 4:15am this morning. most of you know that my alarm clock does not usually recognize numbers that involve anything remotely close to 4am. given that i am a night owl, and fell asleep at my normal time of 1am, you can imagine how difficult it was to get out of bed, and why three different alarms were necessary.

after finishing my unpacking, then repacking, i was off to meet and prepare the bus, where i would spend the next four hours. so needless to say, it has already been a long day.

i say all that to say, bear with me as i attempt to reconstruct my recent london adventures.

it began on wednesday night. deb was on a 9pm flight out of ny and i a 10pm flight out of dulles. anne was gracious enough to take me to the airport, and though i had allotted a ridiculous amount of extra time due to the fact that it was the day before thanksgiving, i found that it was completely unnecessary. in fact, it was the quietest i have seen dulles in years.

due to the flight time and time change, deb was scheduled to arrive in london on thursday at about 9am, and i at 10am or so. in unplanned perfection, deb’s flight was late and mine early, so she only waited a few minutes before we met up at my baggage claim. while my arrival scene did not remotely resemble that of the opening sequence in one of my favorite movies, ‘love actually’, i was still thrilled to be there.

in doing some research beforehand, i had learned that a cab into the city from heathrow was approximately $100 and would take an hour or so. call me cheap, but it seemed neither cost effective or time efficient to go this route, so we opted to catch the 15 minute 15 pound heathrow express, which took us as far as paddington station. at that point we made the only real ‘first-timers’ mistake we made throughout the trip, and decided to take the tube to the hotel. little did we know that while the london underground is insanely easy and user friendly, it is still difficult to cart luggage up and down god’s concrete earth.

i am a notoriously bad packer, but i had been careful this time. yet, despite my attempts at ‘packing light’, after the first staircase, my hand was killing me, and i was out of breath. but there was no choice other than to proceed.

we made our way to the hotel, which was conveniently located around the corner from the marble arch tube stop, and when we entered the lobby, we had to pause to take it all in. attempting to be ultra-modern and ultra-trendy, resulting in simply being passé, the lobby was tiled completely in white, with strange sculptures of men doing who knows what. there were neon lights, egg shaped couches... we couldn’t help but laugh.

when we checked in and opened the door to our room, it was immediately evident that the fun was not over. it is impossible for me to capture in words the strangeness of our accommodations. red neon lights surrounding the full length mirror, a backlight acrylic headboard, backlit acrylic artwork, off-center plasma, no drawers whatsoever, and two double beds pushed up together, with separate linens, but otherwise looking like one giant bed.

the bowl sink thingy and the shower knobs went firmly in the ‘huh?’ category, but despite the oddity of the room, we would come to love the beds and bedding, as well as the hair dryer and towel warmer.

we attempted to clean ourselves up and refresh. we played with adapters and converters, trying to find the right combination, and unfortunately, my hair fell victim to a supercharged flat iron before we succeeded. fortunately, it was one small strand on the back of my head--completely unnoticeable, except to the touch.

it was finally time to get on our way and make use of the rest of the day. the weather was sunny and beautiful, and i realized that i had failed to pack my sunglasses given the forecast of rain, wind, and more rain. but that was something that would be remedied later on in the trip.

due to the timing and the limited hours, the first stop on the agenda was temple church. not extremely well known, it houses the tombs of some knights templar. it has been made more popular lately as a result of the 'davinci code' (which, ironically, i just watched again today as it was the movie chosen by the execs on the bus ride), but that was not the impetus for my interest.

on the way, we stumbled across the royal courts of justice. deb’s one request/hope for the trip was the opportunity to sit in on some sort of law something or other, so she asked me if i minded if we just popped our heads in. i, of course, didn’t, so we did. while waiting in the queue to go through security, it became clear that we had popped in when the courts were coming back from lunch recess. we watched as one man tried to break in the line and the following dialogue (more or less) ensued:

man 1: excuse me, but the line ends back there
man 2: i’m sorry, i’m due in court in five minutes.
man 1: so am i, what do you think we’re all here for??

deb and i shrank a little in our skin, feeling all of the sudden, very touristy. but the line moved quickly and our guilt passed equally so.

we wandered the incredible building, oohing and aahing over the gothic domed doorways, and monastery-like doors. we snuck a peek into one of the courtrooms, and deb was highly amused by the judges and attorneys in their white wigs and black robes.

we continued to wander, looking in as we passed by several courtrooms. we came across one where we noticed that three judges were just taking their seats at the bench. intrigued, deb moved into the foyer, where we could observe unobtrusively. the courtroom was beautiful...draped in red velvet and innumerable books, we were drawn in further when we realized that the chief judge, who as it turned out was the chief justice of england and wales (anyone know what that really means?) was ripping the defense attorney a new one. it was simply entertaining. that debacle concluded and the next trial began. it was only a few minutes before we realized we were watching a murder trial.

the royal courts of justice usually hold only civil cases, but i don’t know enough to know why this was an exception. we decided to take a seat in the gallery and watch for awhile. we were not the only spectators, but little did we know that the others would be almost as fascinating as the trial itself. we had been watching the action for about ten minutes when a couple in the gallery asked the lady next to them if she could let them pass.

she mumbled something about waiting, and would not let them by. they continued to very politely try to plead their case (no pun intended), but she refused. ultimately, at the fourth or fifth request, she slapped the requester. we were all shocked..deb, myself, the couple. she had just committed assault in a courtroom. and yet the trial proceeded without interruption.

after recovering from the shock, the man composed himself and climbed around on the chairs behind the crazy woman.

we stayed for a few more minutes, then decided to head on to temple church. after eventually locating it, we were disappointed to find it closed--or i was anyway. so the only thing left to do was to head towards the next stop--the tower of london.

given that 80% of my reading material consists of historical fiction centering around british and roman history, the tower of london was high on my list of ‘must sees.’ we arrived at about 3:00pm. which left us an hour and a half to explore. neither deb nor i had ever done an audio tour, but we felt that in this case, a little background info might be worthwhile.

i don’t know how worthwhile it really ended up being, as we continually found ourselves at different places in the audio and trying to walk in opposite directions. it was our very own ‘who’s on first.’ but when we were on the same page, what we saw was extremely interesting. particularly impressive were the carvings in the wall of the tower room. for me, realizing that elizabeth, and dudley, and raleigh were imprisoned in this very room, was surreal to say the least. probably enhanced tenfold by the fact that i recently finished watching the ‘elizabeth’ mini-series.

we moved on to wander through the armory and to check out the crown jewels. a conveyor belt moved us past the jewels with efficiency, and though there were no crowds on that particular day, i can see how effective it would be in giving everyone equal time to gawk.

we closed out the tower and headed to oxford circus for dinner. we ate at a combination bar/restaurant, at which the food was poor, but the eye candy was rich.

after ‘dinner’--if you can call it that, we wandered quite a bit more and landed in a quaint meze for dessert and tea.

that was when we hit our wall. so we headed back to our crazy hotel and called it a night.