Little Reunion

Yesterday Danielle and I met up and showed me around London. I haven't seen her for over a year and really haven't heard much from her so we spent a good half-hour or so catching up on the Tube. Her boyfriend Gary was kind enough to come with us and show us the way to the sights because Danielle and I were too engaged in our "Canadian" conversation to pay attention to where we were going.

We enjoyed a relaxing lunch at a pub on the side on the River Thames. I appreciate the Thames because the breeze it provides really makes hot weather bearable. Don't get me wrong, the weather in London has been gorgeous so far. But 30+C to a Vancourite is not entirely pleasant. Anyway, I had my first steak pie in the UK and it was delish! Plus the portion was huge; I was so stuffed afterward. But we walked along the Thames to the London Bridge so I didn't fall asleep. In fact, we walked across the London Bridge. Now before I go into this next bit, I need to give a bit of background. One of my coworkers asked me to sing "London Bridge is Falling Down" when I go over the bridge, and I agreed. So Danielle and I were too ready to belt into song when we were crossing the bridge. Poor Gary was forced not only to hear a couple Canucks make fools of themselves but also to videotape us singing. Therefore the performance is all recorded, ready to greet the world on Facebook.

After we got to the north side of the Thames, we went to the Tower of London, but when we got there it was two hours till closing, so we didn't go in. However, Danielle and Gary took me to the Camden Market, of which I had heard before coming to London. It was an open air market with stalls selling knick-knacks, furniture, records, and food from around the world. The place was definitely buzzing with people. It was very much sensory overload for me as there were kalidescope of colour and cacophony of languages. A part of the Market used to be a horse stable and the stalls (for the horses) were being renovated for market stalls. Pretty clever.

We headed back to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Gary was quite resourceful and told me much about the landmarks and history of London, like Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the famous clock tower and not the tower itself. Another aha moment. We had to part ways because Gary had to pack for his trip to Beijing in a couple days. So I went back to the hostel to take a quick snooze.

It was really fun to see Danielle and meet Gary. Also it was good to be with a fellow Canadian who could relate to the culture transition and joke about the differences in Canadian English and English English. Poor Gary had to endure Danielle's and my pestering on the way we speak and conduct ourselves. "Sorry mate, two against one!" There is a difference in culture, but I'm apprecating it more and more.

So after the snooze, I Tubed back to Convent Garden for dinner: fish and chips! Afterwards, I strolled to Leicester Square and Picadilly Circus. The night was just beginning for Londoners, but I was all ready for bed.

Well today is museum day because of the weather. I'll still have to figure out which ones to visit.