I Am My Own Tom Tom

For those of you familiar with the ways of Lola, you understand that she has a bizzare and completely irrational fear of driving in Boston. She even prefers not to take the T without proper supervision, for fear of ending up in the nether parts of the world, such as Mattapan. However, this same Lola has turned a new geographical leaf and learned to navigate a large city. She managed, via train, to get herself into London, and once there navigate the streets and the Tube without getting lost once! She is a master of all things geographical and directional! Boston, and its fair inhabitants beware! Lola is coming!

London, Baby!

On July 13, Dad and I took a train into London, and a hop on/hop off tour of London, which also included a few walking tours (not possible to do all in one day, though). For you Harry Potter fans, there is indeed a "Platform 9 3/4" at King's Cross Station! A cute little brick wall with a luggage trolley stuck halfway through. And yes, I did do the touristy thing and had my picture taken with it, but I digress. We just barely arrived at the Visitor Center in time to begin the tour that goes to Buckingham Palace and sees the Changing of the Guard. Unfortunately our tour guide was a bit of a speed-demon. He walked at such a rapid pace I couldn't have kept up with him if I wanted to! And, of course, when we arrived at the castle, everyone and their brother was there, and we ended up losing the walking tour entirely. So we said screw them, and went off in search of the bus. We then travelled toe Westminster Abbey and saw Big Ben (which I always thought was the name of the tower, but turns out it is the name of the 13 ton bell inside!). After some lunch with a psychotic waitress (she was running around like a womqn on fire), we got back on the bus. It was one of the open-air buses, so we sat on the top. The tour was actually very nice, and we even got to see Fleet St. (for all you Sweeney Todd fans). We thought about taking the Jack the Ripper walking tour; but it was a bit long and we would have missed our boat cruise, which was very nice. It was similar to the one we did for Flo's Hen Do, but this one went to Greenwich. After the cruise we had dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, where we both had traditional "Bangers & Mash" which was actually quite tasty; I could have done without the gravy on my Yorkshire pudding, though.

London Town

The day after the Hen Do party (yesterday), we went to the section of London called Camden, where there is an open air market with lots of little vendors and shops. It was extremely crowded, but somehow we managed to get through without losing anyone. Somehow I have managed to not yet buy a single thing! We then went to a sushi restaurant where it's all you can eat for £15. Quitterie, Boris and the baby then returned to France, while the rest of us walked around the city, visited St. Paul's cathedral, and walked along the river. We took a brief trip to the Tate Modern Museum, where I was able to see some Dali, Picasso and Warhol. We ended up in Chinatown, where we had a fabulous dinner at a restaurant called the Four Seasons. They are quite famous for their Crispy Duck and Special Fried Rice. We realized that it was 10:40, we still had to go back to the hostel to get our luggage, then take the Tube to King's Cross station to get a train back to Cambridge! Of course, not only was it a Sunday night, when trains generally stop earlier, but it was the final night of the World Cup (which Spain won), so the city was a madhouse, especially Picadilly Circus, which is very similar to Times Square. Thankfully we made it in time, and arrived back to Hélène's around 2 a.m. Needless to s ay, after our whirlwind weekend I slept until noon-thirty. Today is a nice lazy day, to be spent reading, updating this blog and doing laundry. Tomorrow Dad and I will go in to London to see all the things we haven't yet seen (which, given the amount of walking we have done, I can't imagine is much!)

The Hen Do Party

In England it is quite traditional to throw a bachelorette, or "Hen Do" party for a bride to be. It is also customary for said bride to be made to wear some sort of kitschy costume, in the case of Florence, Hélène's sister, a fake bridal gown purchased on Ebay, a princess tiara and silly lace gloves. A group of 14 of us first went to London, to a little club, where we had tapas and cocktails. Our next event was a booze-cruise on the Thames River. Unfortunately, when leaving the club we were not entirely sure where we needed to be to get the boat, so there was much running around trying to find the proper pier and not be left behind. Thankfully; we safely made it onto the boat, and the 4 hr cruise was wonderful: perfect weather, good music and even better company. We finished the evening at a club called The Borderline, which played mostly rock music. I spoke quite a bit with a lovely girl from Ireland named Ailbhe (pronounced Elva). We finally made it back to the hostel at 4:30 a.m. Meanwhile, Dad and Boris went to the park with the baby, out for dinner, then in to bed at a reasonable hour (unlike the rest of us). But I had such a nice time, I nearly forgot that I am too old to be staying up that late several nights in a row!

Drinking: It's Not for Everyone

Ah yes, back to the awkward moment. After returning to Hélène's from our walking around Cambridge, there was a big BBQ at her house. She has a quaint little gated garden behind the house. There, she set up disposable BBQ's, which I had no idea even existed! There were probably about 25 people there from all over, and we had a wonderful time. When it was late enough that we were probably annoying the neighbors, we left and went to a club. Now by this point Lola had been speaking with a rather cute French guy, and what vacation is without a French man? The club was nice, although rather loud so we left and went to another bar. Things were going quite nicely, and Lola was quite enjoying herself with this French guy, when all of a sudden she was caught unawares by a run-by puking. Some arsehole, most likely on his way to the bathroom, essentially puked down the front of Lola's shirt. Making a mad dash to the loo, rather afraid that she might follow suit and yark all over the place, she stood topless in the ladies' room, trying desperately not to be ill while Hélène washed her shirt in the sink. Not the highlight of the day, I'm afraid. To put a rancid icing on this fanfuckintastic cake, things went less than smoothly when, later in the evening, Lola tried to kiss aforementioned Frenchman. Less than stellar, with his explanation that he was sorry, he was just too drunk. By that point, Lola quite wished she herself was also drunk.

Cambridge by Day

The night in question I may have had one of the most awkward moments of my life, but I am getting ahead of myself. Our second day in Cambridge, Quitterie, Boris (friends of Hélène), their son Aeol, Dad and I took an organized walking tour of the town, where we were able to visit the King's College chapel. We were very lucky in that the King's College boys choir was rehearsing for a concert that evening. They are a very famous and wonderful choir, and the acoustics in the chapel are awe inspiring. It is wonderful to see all the old architecture of the city. For all of you Harry Potter fans, portions of the first film (particularly the broom fight with Malfoy) were filmed at King's College. And thus far the weather has been phenomenal. Roughly 75 degrees and sunny. And apparently all of England is beside themselves with their luck with the weather! I might actually end up leaving England with a sunburn!

Ostrich...its what's for dinner

Lola has safely traversed the Atlantic without issue. After arriving in Cambridge we visited with some friends of Hélène and Maxim. The next day we walked all over Cambridge. We also visited some of the colleges, such as Trinity, St. John's, Cambridge University and King's College. We stopped at the Eagle Pub, a historical place because that was where Watson and Crick first announced they had discovered the structure of DNA. What better place to share information than the pub? There I had traditional fish and chips and mushy peas (and yes it says "mushy" on the menu). We then took a punting tour of the Cam River, similar to a gondola. That evening we went to the Kingston Arms pub for dinner. Dad and I shared an ostrich steak. Absolutely fabulous! The pub has boardgames you can play, so Maxim and I played Connect Four. Very old-school.

On the Road Again!

Ah, yet again Lola will be bidding the US adieu while she travels Europe... again. I have planned quite the trek for my month abroad. I will be visiting London (for the first time), France (for the umpteenth time) and Scotland (also a first). As updating my blog has, regrettably, fallen by the wayside (yet again), I am hoping to use this trip as a means to regularly update it. So, I wake up at the ass crack of dawn, to leave my house by O'dark thirty, and be on a plane that LEAVES at 8:15 AM. For those of you who know me, you can start laughing now... I find it amusing myself. With any luck, my father and I will be able to leave the country without incident, and begin a sorely needed, month-long vacation. Bon voyage!

Lola Reconciles

A while back, Lola was mistreated by a close friend. Now, Lola knows full well that he would never deliberately do anything to hurt her, but he had the misfortune to make a rather poor decision at an inopportune time. Consequently, Lola slipped from the semi-coherent side of reality, fell off the edge of reason, and landed face first in a molten rage that was disproportionate to the initial infraction. After taking some time to "cool off" Lola sent a strongly worded email to her friend... that was apparently a bit over the top. Lola decided to hold her ground until the friend contacted her in some way. Well, when he did, he was so full of guilt that Lola herself began to feel guilty. At long last, the two kindred friends reconciled, and Lola was so filled with joy that she wept openly. A lot. It would appear Lola is not as strong as she thought she was. But then again, who is?

Peaches

So I have a niece; she is my best friend's daughter, and I call her Peaches. Thankfully, my friend lives close enough that I can be a regular part of this child's life. She is only 9 months, but has an infectious giggle that can soften even the most curmudgeonly heart. Her blue eyes and smile light up a room. Today, Laura came over with Peaches, and another friend for a nice afternoon of chatting and knitting. Peaches and my dog are now the best of friends. I tell you, I could be having the shittiest day imaginable, but the second I see Peaches, and she sees me and smiles and giggles, I completely forget whatever it is that was troubling me. I love her now, and I can't wait to see the person she becomes. I am looking forward to many years of good times with Peaches and Dotte :)