Happy Halloween!

This one gets blamed on Liz

So while she was gone, I had a lovely lull in the construction... but the day after she returns? Jackhammers in the street.

Today, the racket started at 8:27. How she's still in bed 5 minutes later, I have no idea.

I haven't figured out how she sleeps through her alarms either.

So I'm gonna blame it on Mel... again.

I've discovered yet another time eating web site. And since it's related to I can has cheezeburger, I'm going to say it's Mel's fault. It's called Graph Jam... where people submit graphs... most of them mocking pop culture. Here's my favorite so far:

http://www.graphjam.com/

London (and Detroit)

July 9, 4pm EST – Detroit

And it's a good thing too, because Mel was getting really grumpy and going on tirades about piddly little islands and their tiny toilets and miniscule showers.

I think she was set off by the sight of our hotel room in London. Our room where only one of us could stand up at a time. Mel could literally touch both walls at the narrowest part, and linked together we could span the widest part with a foot or more to spare.

The good news is that we could check in when we got there at 1pm… stayed long enough to dump our stuff and then headed off to the National Gallery. Saw all my favorites – Lady Jane Gray, Monets, Renoirs, and enough Madonnas and Children to last me a whole year or more. We walked to Leicester Square for Trusty Ol' Mr. Wu's. Cheap, mainly because it's onions in yellow sauce (with chicken), Onions in brown sauce (with beef), and sweet and sour pork drizzled with a tiny amount of sauce… but with a huge vat of it right next it.

Decided to skip the shows, considering the wake-up call was for 4:30am, and went to see Kung Fu Panda. Discovered strange Britishism. The movie was on the board as starting at 6:40. We were there early about 6:10ish. Then realized that seating didn't open until 6:30. Trailers started at 7 and the movie didn't start until 7:15. What the heck was that about? Movie was cute, and then back to hotel for shower, repack and sleep. Who am I kidding? Mel did the repack while I used the shower which literally had 8 inches of dressing space. I cringed when Mel told me she wandered through the public hallway naked so she could dress in the bathroom. Gah!

So this morning we headed down to the lobby and the desk clerk told us it would be just about the same to take a cab to the airport as it would be to get a cab to Paddington and then take the Heathrow Express. Yeah! No lugging suitcase down into the tube!

Heathrow security made Lax look like a slacker. We went through the first security terminal, and then once through the gate, we were searched again AND sniffed by a cute dog.

You could hear the sigh of relief when we landed in Detroit. Finally back in the land of paper towels and free refills. Passport control went much more swiftly than Heathrow. He asked me what I'd been doing, and I said "same as the girl before me. Went to a wedding."

"Congratulations!" he replies. Funny Man. The customs guy wasn't so funny. He looked bored out of his skull. He apparently pestered Mel, but left me alone. We dragged our luggage off to be rechecked and then had to go through security again. I saw a booth that I think is one of those see through your clothes deals. Mel and I thankfully didn't get hassled.

So we've got 10 or some minutes before boarding… if we're running on time… which the previous 3 Philly flights have not.

Post Script: We boarded about 15 minutes late, then taxied out to de-icing area where we sat for an hour waiting for the weather in Philly to clear. Yeah.

Bath Day 2 + Stonehenge

July 8, 10:23 – currently on train leaving Bath.

Yesterday morning, armed with my trusty anti-rain talisman (aka brolly) we set out for Bath Abbey – which I think is much more like a church than a tourist attraction (unlike many of the Cathedrals we've visited in the past.) The Heritage Vaults were interesting and not dumbed down as many of the museums. A school was practicing for their Founder's Day and while Mel was not amused, I felt like singing along and giggled to myself every time the director stopped to yell at them. He had a booming voice that echoed through the Abbey. I so wanted to burst out into song to hear what my voice would sound like all echoes and reverberation.

Sally Lunn was next. The "museum" is a whole two rooms in the basement, but it was worth the price of admission (free). The little old lady behind the counter took a liking to Mel and gave her the guided tour.

We had lunch upstairs in the tearooms then headed back downstairs for 2 Sally Lunn Bath Buns… yum.

Then we met Gary, our tour guide. His catchphrase "I'll tell you about that later…" He rambled on in an amusing fashion as we drove the hour to Stonehenge. It dribbled on us for about 30 seconds but then the only thing we had to worry about were the winds. They were blowing us every which way. Brrr. The clouds made for some very dramatic photos.

Gary really won my heart when we got back on the bus and he announced that we'd be in Brighton in 30 minutes. "No, we're not really going to Brighton. But I want to go to Brighton!"

Instead we headed off to the little village of Lalock where they filmed bits of Hogsmead, Harry's parent's house, and the main street of Meriton (thus the Pride and Prejudice reference to Brighton.)

Back in Bath, we stopped into the Hunter's Pub, where finding the loo was a labyrinthical experience. Up the stairs, around the corner, up the stairs past the gents, down the stairs, through the room and up the stairs again. Going back I just went down one set of stairs, around the bar, down another set of stairs and confused the heck out of Mel when I came from the opposite direction from which I'd left.

While we waited for our walking tour at 8pm, we planned our next novel and a half – a sequel to The Road To. Possible Titles: The Road Two, The Road to Two, The Road From. Mel is not particularly impressed with any of them. Maybe we should have a trio. The Road To, The Road From, and The Road Less Traveled By.

Bizarre Bath, the walking tour was just as funny as I remembered it. I think 10 years is significant enough time to forget most of the jokes. When we got back to the hostel at 10, the lights were already off, so I didn't get a chance to write all this down… but at least I had something to do on the train! Soduku Time!

Bath Day 1

July 6, 8:20 pm

We walk into our hostel room and there are two very hairy guys sleeping in the lower bunks. A little uncomfortable, but we drop off our stuff and take off for the Roman Bath Museum. It starts to rain… this ws the beginning of a pattern we had yet to comprehend. It goes like this. Rain. Enter museum. Rain stops. Exit Museum. Rain pours down so hard the store clerks' eyes pop. Enter restaurant. Sit down. Rain stops. Wait a loooong time for the bill. Rain sprinkles then turns into massive downpour the minute we actually get the bill and stand to leave. Went to Sainsbury's Local. Bought Brolly.

So anyway, while at the Roman Bath Museum there was no fire… no fine firemen to snap pictures of either. Sigh. On the way home we stopped in to California Kitchen (whose menu was definitely more British than Californian) for dessert. Mel ordered carrot cake which came drizzled in this strange looking hot pink strawberry sauce. I ordered French Onion soup. Yeah, I know… nice dessert. Went back to the hostel and read until 10:30.

Today we bought a 10 Pound bus tour and went around and then half way around again to the Fashion Museum, which used to be called the costume museum. I swear it was a heck of a lot larger when I was there ten years ago. We didn't get to see the Assembly Rooms, as there was a dance class in there. It sounded like Riverdance above us as we walked through the museum. We came out and saw that there were tons of people in period costume wandering about.

We stopped at a Thai place for lunch and then off to the Jane Austen Center which was seriously more an homage to all the Jane Austen movies than to the actual books. A bit disappointing. Much preferred the Jane Austen Museum in Chawton. We did have tea in the Regency Tea Rooms upstairs… where all the combinations were named after characters. The Bath bun we ate was quite nice.

We then went looking for a chemist but found Sainsbury's instead… then while wandering a bit more (now safely ensconced under my trusty new brolly [and trying not to hum Singing in the Rain]), we saw a sign for a movie theater. Bingo!

Female Agents was a good WWII movie, most of which was in French. As Mel put it – It's The Dirty Dozen… but with girls. A group of French resistance fighters are recruited and sent in to rescue a geologist with valuable information of the D-Day plans.

Now I think it's time for digestives… and Soduku!

The Wedding

July 5, 1 pm

Well, Clare's officially a married woman and I think Mel and I have left her in very good hands. The wedding was beautiful. My poem went over well. Clare looked absolutely stunning and Reuben looked very dapper in his Bob Scratchit (cravat). It was definitely a good thing that Clare got to test out her mascara during the Hen Night because she cried. We sat at the "cool" table in the corner with Clare's other sundry mates and had a blast before and during dinner.

Afterward, Debbie, Mel and I snuck up to our room so Mel could watch the end of Criminal Justice. Then we headed back down to dance. Now that was an interesting experience. It started off with an Indian flair and Reuben's family and mates got up to dance. Then they ran through the classics – Jackson 5, Madonna, ABBA and Clare's side got up to dance. At one point I was dancing right next to Clare's sisters. It was a bit like dancing next to the three Muses… all tall and slender.

We ducked out about 12:30 and then learned at breakfast that they'd broken the party up only about half an hour after we'd left.

We're currently on the train to Bath and I really am going to blame Mel for the fact that I just started talking about the wedding and not about how we got there.

I keep getting distracted by the conversation going on behind me - a group of blokes, one of which told the other he had three things to say to him. Number 1 – sort out the details of his holiday… soon. It's apparently very expensive to fly from Morocco to Cairo. The second thing was that he should go through with this wedding. If he did, he was a flamin' idiot. It was obvious that he wasn't really in love with the girl. The third thing… I don't think he ever got to that… just switched to complaining about a 30 Pound haircut and then footie.

Reading – The station… not the activity. Guys got off.

So getting from York to Stevenage was quite easy. We did have to leave our bags 3 coaches away from where we finally found our seats. Once we got off the real adventures began. Now Stevenage is probably only ten miles from Clare's. The train guy told us we'd have to travel to London, (switching stations via the Tube) and back out again to get there. Either that or take a train to Hertford, walk three miles across town to the other station to catch another train.

Mel and I did the smart thing. We walked across the pedestrian bridge to the bus station. After a bit of confusion (and a bit of crankiness on Mel's part) we found an electronic journey planner that could get us to Turnford College, and prayed that it was the one right outside Clare's estate. We had to wait about 45 minutes so I went into Woolworths for some comfort food – a diet coke and a Kinderegg.

Side Note: SWINDON!

The bus was ten minutes late and when it arrived our bus driver's English was a little limited. We were even later when some other driver kept yelling at him that he had the wrong bus.

Finally underway we drove off the where? Ware! Then when we asked the driver which Ware were we supposed to get off at (we thought it was the Ware we'd just passed), he said no and told us the next Ware was where we were to depart. He drove literally around the corner and a nice old British Lady (then tend to hang out a lot of bus stops) told us the Ware where we'd been before was the Ware where we needed to be. We rounded the corner where the Ware bus was waiting and hopped aboard. Turnford college turned out to be where Reuben works so we took a turn around Turnford Roundabout and turned into Clare's estate where she greeted us like a queen from her 3^rd story balcony.

Side Note: Okay, I promise to stop it now. Really.

I ended up lugging the suitcase up all the stairs myself as Clare had just gotten her manicure. Grrrr Arghhhh. Jenny Power!

 

2pm

The night before the wedding was a girly night. Reuben set off to hand with his parents (He probably had a much less splendid night than we did). Pizza, crisps, popcorn, and Maltesers were the fare. Then Mel popped in our first cheezy chick flick of the night. The Slipper and The Rose – where Richard Chamberlain suddenly started singing and dancing. It's apparently a Benton Family Classic. It was even funnier when they fast forwarded through the extensive dance numbers at twice speed.

We headed off to bed after following Reuben's strict instructions not to feed Clare too much alcohol. I think we kind of worried him after the hen night.

Next Stop – Bath! I am seriously in need of lunch.