O O Ø O O O O
London Dearie
My wife and I honeymooned in London for two weeks last March. When you spend that many days as a tourist in a metropolis as crazy as London, you tend to form a few opinions.
London is tricky, because it's the ancestral motherland of our culture. Expectations are high when you go there.
Naturally, we were sick while we were there, and tired by the time we got back. As a result, we were a little cool when it came to talking about our trip. So in case people were given the notion we weren't impressed by London, I prepared this list to demonstrate otherwise.
And since Kjell is too pegged to take the podium this week, and I'm too drained from being pegged last week, I've trotted it out of my grab bag of pre-written prose and am presenting it fully repurposed as this week's content. It's not much of a rant, but I'm not pissed off at anyone today. (When Kjell gets back up to fighting weight, I'm sure he's got a good story or two to break off.)
London is great.
London My Way:
- We walked half way down and jaywalked across the Albert Bridge at night.
- We ate pancakes at nine in the evening at a Dutch restaurant in Chelsea.
- I have a picture of the underside of London Bridge, from the shore.
- The cafeteria in the Tower of London was the best meal we were served, and perhaps the best sandwich I've ever eaten.
- Soho sprawls, and we wound up there the first weekend without really knowing where we had gone.
- Wherever we went, the chips were excellent.
- We found a brilliant Marks & Spencer microwavable Indian smorgasborg.
- I bought socks and underwear at M&S too.
- European cars everywhere. No trucks, no SUVs.
- There's a special Mark Rothko room at the Tate Modern. It's built to the artist's dimensions. It proves why you should listen to the artists.
- I bought two Cheap Day Returns to Arundel.
- Admittedly, I thanked God for Starbucks, who could supply me with an actual drip coffee. Not a white coffee, or Americano, but real filtered stuff.
- My buddy Brad took us to the Founder's Arms, because he thought it was a nice place with a good view, and it had been on my list of pubs to see for something like five years. I love the synchronicity.
- Austin taxis are inexplicably cool.
See anything I missed? Shoot me a note and I'll consider adding it here. (I can see it now: the pd.o Guide to London.) Just be sure never to mention that fucking Underground.
Evan Spence
Tuesday, December 4,
2001
PD DXXIV