Friday, 30 September 2005
London Town
I apparently have bloggerrhea, so I'll share with you Heather's and my weekend from a couple of weeks ago. (Strike that - I guess it was the weekend of the tenth. Man, time flies.) Heather's friend Billie from Chicago was in London on the first leg of a European trip. So we decided to take a mini break (look at me, speaking perfect English) and visit her and a few friends who live in the city.
artist in window at Selfridges; our portrait would be to the left of her face, if you could see it
This is one of the coolest things about having a high-speed train link: Hop the train in one city center, arrive in the other. No muss, no taxis, no airport shuffle. You do have to arrive at least a half an hour before departure, but since the Paris station is three metro stops from my apartment, this isn't a real hassle.
We had a great time visiting my friends Simon and Kristen for an extended lunch. I know them from my brief time at an apartment complex, during the eight months or so before I moved to Paris. He's English, she's Minnesotan, and they were my downstairs neighbors. They moved to London some three years ago, so we're neighbors of sorts once again.
They've apparently been on a museum kick, visiting several on different weekends. We were having such a good time that Heather and I joined them to see the Wallace Collection. Free admission! The English definitely get it.
An interesting tidbit: Sir Richard Wallace, in an act of charity, offered Paris drinking fountains. They're distinctive green constructs which you can still see throughout the city. When we arrived at the collection, I saw a very familiar sight out the corner of my eye. Yes, it was! One of the drinking fountains - a reciprocative gift from Paris to the Wallace Collection - in front building's entrance. Such a small world, that we, who have adopted Paris as our home, should just happen to go see the collection of another adoptive Parisian.
Billie met us that evening at the same bar that Heather's friend Raul and his girlfriend, Ruth, were at. That was a good time, and nice to see Raul and Ruth again. Billie is really cool, I was happy to meet another of Heather's good girlfriends. Plus I didn't act like a total prat in front of Billie, so Heather won't be calling the wedding off.
ha ha, we're so mature
Sunday was "just us" time, wandering around on foot after a lazy morning that included a relaxed breakfast and plenty of lounging around. London is a nice place for walks, and I love Hyde Park. There's nothing like that in Paris, something that's central and yet isolates you from the surrounding noise. We have parks, and we have big parks - but "central" and "extensive" are unfortunately mutually exclusive in Europe's densest city (also see this city list).
That was the weekend, nice and simple. High points were getting incorporated into a piece of art (corporate art, but still fun) by an artist standing in the window of Selfridges department store, and buying goodies (like four varieties of cheddar cheese) at Marks & Sparks. The literal "high point" was doing our tourist thing on the London Eye. Low points were walking around without my jacket (left in Paris, in expectation of warmer weather in London) in a t-shirt and... well, that's it really.
Oh, and Wagamama is great. Wow, did those hot noodles ever hit the spot on a chilly day. They really need to open one here in Paris, so let's get started petitioning them...