London reprised

Sunday we had a bit of a lie in (as I think Cora put it!). Cora made us a traditional English breakfast, minus the sausage for me. It consisted of beans, toast, eggs, cooked tomatos and mushrooms. It was really good, but I kind of wonder what made that 'the English breakfast'. When I was a kid I used to eat beans on toast for lunch all the time. Why is that my comfort food? It was a bit wet as we trudged up the hill, again, to the train. We went into London and exited the tube at Oxford Circus and went to Liberty. If I die please send me to Liberty. The building is a beautiful old Tudor and the goods were just fabulous. This was my one splurge in London and I bought some fabric. I could not resist. The fabric just feels luxe and it has amazing colors and patterns. Thankfully some of it was on sale! CW was so sweet and let me fondle fabric to my hearts content. We left Liberty, albeit reluctantly, and headed down Regent Street. I'm used to Michigan avenue, but this put Michigan avenue's magnificent mile to shame. Just hearing the name Regent street made me think about horse drawn carriages and...oh wait, I don't live in a romance novel. Um, so then we then we went through Picadilly circus, which is a bit like Time's square. We waded through the tourists through Leicester square and then to Convent Garden. Convent Garden had a bunch of street performers and an open air market. It was fun wandering through the market. You really can find anything in this city. We were a bit knackered and decided to head home. We hopped on the tube and transferred to the train and we were back in St. Albans. There was yet another walk uphill home. When we got home we took Guinness for a walk. Even private property is open to the public and we walked along Lord and Lady Velluiem's property. There were fields, woods, and off in the distance a mill house. The park was about to close, but we had enough time for me to see the country house. It's not a house, it's a bloody mansion. It looked as big as the white house and we were viewing it from a distance. Cora made me climb up a small embankment with her to peep over a fence to few the Roman amphitheater. There is a Roman amphitheater next door to the mansion. It really is all a bit surreal how the modern day and the ancient live side by side. We then went home, had a spot of tea, and ordered in Indian. Mmmmm.

Monday I walked up the hill, again, to the St. Albans train station in the rain. I have to admit that for a moment I thought about turning around and going home. It is a really big hill. I can not even imagine doing that every day rain or shine. Cora said you get used to it, but I don't know if my butt muscles could get used to it. I walked so much this trip that I am left my grey chuckies in England. They split in so many places and were just worn down to nothing.

I took the train in and transferred to the tube. I walked through a lovely park to the British Museum. The building is amazing. I got to see the Rosetta stone, the Egyptian mummies, and the statues from the Parthenon. I did not spend much time here and I would like to go back again some day. There is a certain allure to the British Museum, but I felt like I needed some more contextual information in order to not feel so lost.

I took another tube to the financial district and met Cora for lunch. We sat outside the Gherkin and had a very lovely lunch. It is amazing how much alike all of the girls look. Same hair, same nylons, same skirts, same shoes. It is all quite nondescript. The men all look alike too. Cora and I walked to another covered market for a cup of tea before I set out again. We walked past Lloyds and it is structurally amazing, but completely bizarre. It was fun to sit and people watch, but Cora had to get back to work.

I then walked through the financial district to go to St. Paul's Cathedral. On the way there I passed the bank. Imagine Fields downtown, but instead of one city block it covers about four. The bank was insanely huge. Then I get to the cathedral and it is immense. I went in and found out it was 10 quid for entrance. Translated to American dollars that is $20. I am sure that it was worth it, but I had other plans and that seemed a bit pricey to me. I walked across Millennium bridge, taking some time to gaze out over the Thames to the Globe. Here I paid the 10 quid for entrance and took the tour. Next time I am in London I will have to see a play here. The theater is so intimate and it would be an amazing thing to see. I then stopped at the Tate for a cup of tea. I was going to try to look at some art, but really I was just too exhausted. I walked back over Millennium bridge and had to just stop and stare. From this side of the Thames the city just lay before me. Storm clouds were whipping up over the buildings and it was just beautiful. That is until it started to rain! I walked over to the train station and headed back to St. Albans. It was pouring rain the whole way home and of course the minute I stepped in the door it stopped raining.

When Cora and CW got home I offered to take Guinness for a walk while they cooked dinner. I will admit that I found London exhausting. I do not know if I could handle such an arduous commute. Then, in the park, jogging about with Guinness, it just struck me how worth the time and energy it was. St. Albans is beautiful, the people are friendly, the parks are gorgeous, and it is a peaceful and happy place. It just made good solid sense to have to work just a little bit harder to find such a place to live.