How to Get Lost

Why is it that British buildings are so freaking hot?

My bag finally appeared at the hotel last night. Clean underwear is a good thing, indeed. I’ve had it back barely 10 hours and have turned it back to British Airways for our flight to St. Petersburg. Sigh

Britain is a neat country, and I look forward to seeing it again sometime. But for now, the adventure continues.

Keeping it short. This internet kiosk has a really crappy keyboard!

The first run of business today was food at Paddington Station. As it’s Sunday, not everything was open, and what few things were open weren’t wholly attractive. One thing I have to ask about British cuisine — what’s with all the freaking mayonnaise? Most of the sandwiches really didn’t appeal to me (I’m sure the “cheese and spring onion” is tasty, but it looks like something went bad and is seeking recognition as a sentient organism). I ended up with a fairly tasty pesto pasta salad.

We stopped in Oxford Circus so Amy can stock up on even MORE knitting stuff (I think she might be more obsessed with knitting than I am about trains — but that’s just me) before we found our way to the British Museum (not far away).

Big. REALLY big. Didn’t see much, though, as I realized partway in the door that if I see everything during this trip, I’ll be bored when I’m back here with Alex next time. So I’m seeing enough to whet the appetite and hunger for more. Which won’t be hard. No St. Paul’s Cathedral this time, though that had been a goal of mine. I can live with that.

Then to Coventry Garden Market. Lots of shopping. I lost Amy there, as she wanted to shop more, and I felt a compelling need to stay out of the stores. I eventually decided to endulge my trainspotting habits and went to check out Waterloo Station. I tell ya — these Brits know how to build train stations. It’s truly a shame that we North Americans have turned our back so much on train travel. It’s not only more efficient, it really is a much better way to get around.

I also made a stop at the Paddington Underground station (Circle/District Line) for a photo — a beautiful station.

We’re back at the internet cafe we hit last night — Amy managed to get a computer that recognizes our cameras, so now there are more images. I’ve only taken a few with my small camera, which is becoming painfully aware that there’s not much here to see. So I’ll work on more pictures to post.

In the meantime, Amy and I are off for dinner. Given that all I’ve eaten is the pasta salad, I need something a tad more filling now.

Tomorrow, we’re off to St. Petersburg for four days. We’re leaving behind the comfort of English-speaking familiarity for the foreignness of the industrialized Second World.

I just hope I have my backpack…

Ah, London. Oxford Street. Covent Garden. Great window shopping everywhere!

I’ve noticed that the hot item for spring seems to be a flouncy white skirt, hitting just below the knee. If I had my camera handy, I could have nabbed a street shot of five different women on one corner, all wearing near-identical skirts. Pity!

I’m a complete clumsy klutz, so I decided to leave white for more pristine skinny girls. Instead, I picked up a pair of black fishnet and lace legwarmers that look absolutely awesome as armwarmers. (And they weigh next to nothing so they’ll be my one fashionable item in my backpack!)

But enough about shopping.

Today we started off at The British Museum, mainly to see the Rosetta stone and check out a bit of the Egypt galleries. I’ve been twice before, but it was always good to pop in for a bit.

After the museum, we headed to Covet Garden, where Geoff quickly buggered off, terrified of the prospect of shopping of any kind. Good for me, it left plenty of time to pop into shops like Monsoon, French Connection, and even Urban Outfitters. Lush has even made it’s way to the UK. I guess it’s just not in the USA yet, aside from one or two spots.

My feet (and my wallet) held up pretty well until 4 when I headed back towards the hotel. Around Oxford Circus, I overheard three (obviously gay) men on the train mention that Regent’s Park was quite beautiful, so I spontaneously decided to hop off the train and head there for an hour of sunning and knitting.

All too soon, we are leaving England tomorrow morning first thing, for a 4 hour flight to Russia. And so, the adventure begins!

The backpack is actually here. However, it’s still at Heathrow (or at least was an hour ago) going through customs.

I’m very happy I didn’t pack any foodstuffs aside from the dehydrated soup. A jar of peanut butter might set off import alarms.

The saga goes on. I need a shave. I need a clean shirt. I desperately want clean underwear.

The joys of travel!