Lovely London

Hi all,

A weekend away was well needed and good fun. We stayed with Tom's friends Gavin and Martina in a Bangladeshi neighborhood called Bethnal Green. Christopher and Tom's friend Caiomhe (Kee-vah) also live nearby so there was a big group of us hanging out all weekend. We managed to do a ton in three days- went to the Tate Modern (renovated factory turned giant museum), went out for Bangladeshi food, went dancing till 4 in the morning, saw a rockabilly show in North London full of English people in western shirts, learned how to play the spoons, went to an outdoor market called Spitalfields (unfortunate name but huge, fabulous market with crafts, clothes, food, etc...) got my much needed fix of hummus and falafel there which I've been missing so much in Ireland, land o' bread and cheese. The weather was pretty good in London, it almost could be considered summery - was mostly sunny and 70s for a good part of the weekend. I suppose it is south of Dublin but the temperature shift was unexpected and lovely.

Did have a moment of pause getting onto the tube for the first time (in light of recent events and all) but whaddya gonna do? On Monday Tom and I were underground waiting for a train when we heard an announcement saying that they were closing a bunch of stops on the Central line (including Bethnal Green) due to some sort of security alert... but it all sorted itself out and reopened fairly quickly. Just kept telling myself that you can't worry about things you can't control...

The flights were so quick and easy, an hour on the plane and there you are in another country. Such a perk of living here. Strangely, I have been to Stansted 4 times in the last month though... It's starting to feel like my second home. Of note: Standsted wishes you to be "delighted," with their bathroom facilities... and oh yes, the toilets are quite delightful. Gotta love English-English.

Well, Ta-ta dahlings. Will try to post some London pics up soon.