As I now type this entry, I'm sipping on a nice bottle of Chocolate Block on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. It's a stunning wine from South Africa I had been saving at home, forgot to drink before we moved, and have been toting around the UK until tonight. At the start of the trip, you would have also found a 1995 Jade Mountain and something French and expensive in the trunk of my rented Vauxhall. There is still one bottle to go, a Saronsberg wine not sold outside of South Africa. It is lovely and I can't bring myself to drink it because I CAN NOT REPLACE IT. But given that this time next week I will be in France where they grow this stuff en masse (for those of you that don't parlez vous Francais, that means in mass), it might be time.
I'm particularly pleased to be drinking this wine in Scotland tonight because for awhile this week I thought our 6 month trip might be wrapping up in week 1. You see, last week I found some blood in my urine and became...umm...alarmed. Going to the doctor did not help. He wasn't exactly thrilled with my condition either, so blood and urine tests began. And then we waited 2 days for the results. In the end, it looks like I will live to see another day. A follow up test in Italy next month will give me the final all clear, but I like my chances.
Between my panic attacks, we've actually managed to cover a lot of ground. We spent 2 nights in the lovely village of Lacock (pronounced Lay-Cock for those of you with gutter minds -- actually, maybe that makes it worse), then 3 nights out in Cornwall (gorgeous), then a night with my former boss in the West Midlands, then a night in the Lake District, and now 3 nights here on the Isle of Arran. Tomorrow we head to see our friend Lisa, just north of Edinburgh.
There are some initial pictures here < www.picasaweb.google.com/lobalboUK >
Lesson of the week -- drink your good wine. Tonight. Because life is unpredictable.
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Leaving London
So last week we bid farewell to our home of the last 14 months, London. We climbed into a black cab on Friday morning to head to Waterloo Station -- the drive took us by Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, then a quick trip past Westminster Abbey and then over the bridge in front of Big Ben to Waterloo. All icons of this great city and it made me very sad. I will say this -- London is far and away the best place I have ever lived and probably ever will.
What I will miss the most:
- Having raw oysters every Sunday at the farmers market behind my flat. The oysters come out of the water at 5am in Maldon and are in my Marylebone backyard at 10am. 6 oysters for a fiver, served by a salty fisherman. Bliss.
- London's skyline -- or lack thereof. The city is low, the charm is in walking the streets rather than looking at the city from afar. My office was only on the 7th floor, and I had a clear view to Big Ben and the London Eye, both about 2 miles away.
- The quiet. Once you leave the mayhem of Soho and Piccadilly behind, the only sounds you hear in most local neighborhoods is the rattle of the black cabs. It can be a very quiet, peaceful city.
- Having Regent's Park just 2 blocks from home. London is full of green spaces everywhere. I could drop you in 3 different parks within Zone 1 where you might as well be in the fields of Virginia (with less rednecks).
- The pubs. They are mostly ancient, the food is often dreadful, the toilets haven't been cleaned since most of them opened in the 1600s. But they are the heart of the city day and night.
- The weather and more importantly, how the city reacts to it. Most days have both rain and sun. People walk with umbrellas literally in their hands in case it starts to rain. And yet outdoor seating is everywhere, and used any time the sun comes out.
- The lifestyle. An article in New Yorker magazine said that if London had a slogan like New York's "I Love NY", it would be "London is just fine for me". It certainly lacks the brashness and edginess of New York. But that fits this ancient city, founded by the Romans as Londinium some 2,000 years ago. And for all its faults, of which there are many (Tube delays, crumbling infrastructure, indifferent service, astronomical prices), it is a magical place.
I hope to one day be back.
What I will miss the most:
- Having raw oysters every Sunday at the farmers market behind my flat. The oysters come out of the water at 5am in Maldon and are in my Marylebone backyard at 10am. 6 oysters for a fiver, served by a salty fisherman. Bliss.
- London's skyline -- or lack thereof. The city is low, the charm is in walking the streets rather than looking at the city from afar. My office was only on the 7th floor, and I had a clear view to Big Ben and the London Eye, both about 2 miles away.
- The quiet. Once you leave the mayhem of Soho and Piccadilly behind, the only sounds you hear in most local neighborhoods is the rattle of the black cabs. It can be a very quiet, peaceful city.
- Having Regent's Park just 2 blocks from home. London is full of green spaces everywhere. I could drop you in 3 different parks within Zone 1 where you might as well be in the fields of Virginia (with less rednecks).
- The pubs. They are mostly ancient, the food is often dreadful, the toilets haven't been cleaned since most of them opened in the 1600s. But they are the heart of the city day and night.
- The weather and more importantly, how the city reacts to it. Most days have both rain and sun. People walk with umbrellas literally in their hands in case it starts to rain. And yet outdoor seating is everywhere, and used any time the sun comes out.
- The lifestyle. An article in New Yorker magazine said that if London had a slogan like New York's "I Love NY", it would be "London is just fine for me". It certainly lacks the brashness and edginess of New York. But that fits this ancient city, founded by the Romans as Londinium some 2,000 years ago. And for all its faults, of which there are many (Tube delays, crumbling infrastructure, indifferent service, astronomical prices), it is a magical place.
I hope to one day be back.
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