London Revisited

I know -- I've been a terrible blogger. I meant to write up my adventures in London, but I fell into a time-eating sinkhole with uploading all my photos, writing captions, tagging and geotagging. Then the holidays were breathing down my neck and I had to go into Madame Defarge mode to knit up all the xmas prezzies for my pals (after having knit fingerless mitts before the trip for all my Brit Flickrmates). So, suffice to say I had a great time, met some wonderful new people, and saw lots of things the usual American tourist doesn't get to see. You'll just have to look at the photos and imagine the adventures that go with them.

Now, I'm planning the April trip back across the pond. I'm not going to be as obsessive about researching and putting things onto a spreadsheet -- there's enough stuff I didn't get to in October to keep me busy for a week. I'll definitely want to see as many of my mates as possible, and maybe meet some new ones. Spooner seems keen on doing the walk through Wapping from Shadwell to Westferry, and I still want to walk around more of Clerkenwell and Lambeth. I'm hoping that the Women's Library will have one of their women's history walks while I'm there. Or maybe I can find a walk on labor history or something like that.

I've been thinking that it would be nice to give something back, in some small way, to the city and people I've enjoyed visiting so much. I'm looking into volunteering at Southbank Mosaics, a group of mosaic artists who have done a number of community projects in the Waterloo area. They have a couple of volunteer days each week -- you learn the technique of doing mosaics, and get to help put together something that will have lasting beauty. I've sent them e-mail to ask about the possibility of doing this, perhaps with some other people from Guess Where London (I've got one person already who says she's interested in joining me).

There's always the hope that I'll be better on the next trip about blogging about what I did and saw. I'll try, but don't hold your breath.

Brilliant!

What a difference a year makes. This year's arrival day was a complete 180 from last year's -- the key worked in the lock on the first try, not a drop of rain, and I had a pal to meet up with so I didn't have to wander around in a disoriented and jetlagged state all by myself. After a nap and a shower, I met one of my Flickr mates in St Pancras Churchyard, then we went to the British Library and the Wellcome Collection. No trouble figuring out the bus, didn't get lost, had a good time -- couldn't be better. Saturday and Sunday were equally brilliant days. Spooner and I went to Kew Gardens on Saturday to see the Henry Moore sculptures. They looked fab in the natural setting, but after walking around and looking at over 20 of them, I had to say "No more Moore. Let's get snacks." We had tea at a very old-timey English tea room, where Spooner and I argued about how to use silverware (he's trying to learn how to eat like a Brit, i.e. use his knife to shovel food onto the back of his fork.) I tried to tell him that his ancestors left the persecution and damp of this isle so that he could grow up in freedom and eat like an American. We covered large sections of the East End on Sunday -- Bunhill Fields, Shoreditch, Brick Lane area, and eventually the Isle of Dogs. We saw a ton of street art, walked through Columbia Road Flower Market, looked at the old Huguenot houses in Princelet and Fournier Streets, found El Chivo and Banksy graffiti in dark alleys, bought stuff at UpMarket, took the DLR to West India Quay, went to the Museum in the Docklands, and came home exhausted. All along the way, I saw things that I'd seen in pictures in Guess Where London -- it was really freaky to see things I knew, but had never seen in real life, and I even often remembered who took the photo. Now it's Monday morning and Spooner has gone off to work, leaving me on my own for the whole day. It's cloudy and damp for the first time since I got here -- much more like what I expect of London weather. I'm heading to Kensington today to go to the V&A and to walk through Holland Park. Tonight is the meet up at a pub in Waterloo with the rest of my Flickr mates. I'm really psyched to be meeting them. Hope they like the gifties from America.

Planning London

I think I've done just about all the planning I can do. This year, I know to have an indoor alternative in every area I plan to explore, because it's inevitable that rain will fall. I've got lots of cool stuff planned:

• Kew Gardens (big exhibit of Henry Moore sculpture there)
• Columbia Road Flower Market, an exploration of Shoreditch street art, possibly the Dennis Severs house, and on down to the Docklands with Spooner
• Kensington, the V&A, perhaps a visit to Harrod's to see the Di and Dodi shrine
• Various galleries in Central London
• A very long walk through the City
• Southbank, the Hayward Gallery and the Tate Modern
• Day trip to Winchester or Dover

On some of these days, I'm hoping various Flickr mates will be joining me. I've planned a mini meetup for a small group of them at a pub in Waterloo one evening. Spooner and I may go to theatre one night, or to see the movie "When Did You Last See Your Father?" that we saw being filmed in Brighton last year (it's just opened in the UK).

Tales of the adventures will follow.

The Fall

There was a small incident on Sunday involving some broken pavement, my toe, and the sun, which was shining straight into my eyes. This unfortunate combo resulted in two very bruised knees, some scrapes on the heels of my hands, and a wee dent on one corner of my camera just at the bottom of the cover to the memory card. After my knees collided with the ground, my right hand must have then taken the rest of the impact or the camera would have been toast. So yesterday on my lunch hour I took the camera out for a short walk around campus. All seems well, which is really, really good because I'm not too keen on the thought of buying a new camera at the moment, having just ordered a new pair of glasses that cost a bundle but will be well worth it if they help me to see where I'm walking. It would also help if I'd pick up my feet.

Making plans for London

I've been a really bad blogger lately. When I haven't been lounging around the pool or roasting tomatoes, I've been planning for the upcoming trip to London. Last year, I had 4 days of doing things with Spooner and 3 on my own. This year, Spooner and I will have only Saturday and Sunday to explore together, leaving me to make my own way around town for 6 days. One of those days will be a day trip to either Winchester (a cathedral city) or to Dover to see the castle and the white cliffs. I've gotten in touch with some of my London Flickr friends, and am hoping to meet several of them to take in some museum exhibits or have a few pints. Spooner still doesn't quite believe me when I say that I know people who I can hang out with, but he's slowly admitting that I may actually know more Brits than he does. Oh, and I've been busily crafting presents for the Brits (more on that later).