lots to update on, as we’ve just returned from a two week holiday to the states. we spent time in nyc, boston, and cape cod. the weather was sucky, but we saw and did quite a lot, nonetheless. will blog the lowdown on all later.
more importantly, j met my family – and amazingly, still wants to marry me, despite the clear evidence of hereditary insanity.
see the photos here.
The London weather this summer has been bollocks – dreary, grey and cool almost every weekend, so when the sun made an unexpected celebrity appearance this weekend, our mission was clear: to spend every possible second drinking in some well-missed warmth and vitamin D.
Our assignment began in earnest Friday evening, as we headed over to Abbey Mills in Colliers Wood to enjoy some open-air music and relax with friends and a few drinks. The evening air was balmy, and the blues cover band was good, so we drank and danced on the picnic blankets for a few hours. When the music died down, we headed over to see our friends at a pub in Tooting Bec, having some celebratory birthday drinks. As the pub closed, no one was quite ready to head home, so we walked over to their house, and continued the merriment with improvised cocktails, snacks and general silliness (the breadsticks would later be used as a means of map measurement, and it is two breadsticks from johannesburg to london, but only one breadstick from j’burg to Sydney), until we rolled home at 2:30.
Since J has quit smoking the past few days, he has been waking up ridiculously early, which ensured that we made it to the Balham Tup early Saturday morning for the kickoff of Tri-nations rugby, s.a. vs australia. In typical bostonian fashion, I was supporting the underdog, and ultimate losers, the rsa springboks for my initiation into the rugby world. Despite an early lead, the boks let it slip through their grasp, but everyone agreed that it was a good match overall.
After the rugby, we got some picnic food, and headed out for a drive to the “beaches” of eastbourne – or what passes for beach in most of this country. Pebble shores and cold murky water, but the sun was nice and we chilled and strolled and pretended we were at a proper beach. Heading home, we counted the number of roundabouts en route back to London, and totalled up a staggering 39!! The Uk is roundabout crazy – wherever a four-way stop or a merge would do, they plonk down a roundabout. Dizzy by the time we got home, we relaxed with some japanese takeaway and a movie for the remainder of the evening.
Sunday was originally designated for climbing, but after J awoke at 7:30! And we witnessed a glorious day outside the bedroom window, we couldn’t bear to be indoors on the wall. So J made me sweet (not savoury!) french toast, and we jumped back in bruce and made a beeline for Bournemouth.
English seaside towns are really an odd little curiosity. They’re kitschy and corny and each is a pale imitation of the next, but the brits love them, and flock to them like heat seeking missiles at the first hint of sun. Bournemouth is actually a reasonable size town, and fairly modern, with a real sand beach, but there’s still something a bit sad about the desperation to pretend it’s more exciting or better than it actually is. In any case, there was real sand, so we had some lunch and lounged in the sun for a bit, basking like seals. J made the brave plunge into the cold water, while I got lots of sand in my underwear. After a while we decided to head back, and I decided to practice driving again. Which would not have been so bad except for the massive traffic. I actually drove the whole way into Central London, quite pleased with myself that all the sideview mirrors made it home intact through the narrow parked-up little streets. Chilled at home the rest of the evening in front of the telly like sunburnt slugs.
I’ll add some pics to this post a little later.
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