"You're easier to believe in with the lights off." - Bean, Love Song

Friday, Friday, Friday. This week was one of the longest in awhile. Not sure if that's good, since my time here is rapidly dwindling away, or bad, since it made the work days go so much slower.

But it wasn't a bad week, in fact, I've been in a surprisingly good mood. Maybe because all of last week I was sick, and did not work on Thursday as a result. But for the record, lying in bed all day only made me feel worse, not better. But I am mostly better now. I still have slightly runny nose and a cough, and that sick taste in my mouth, but I'll be fine.

Also last week, I got paid to shop. No, really. On Tuesday I get to work to discover half the office on the pavement, as everyone who had keys to get in was away. So a few girls and I went shopping while we waited for keys, and I found a great scard for £2 at Top Shop. I mean, when else am I literally going to get paid to shop?! The keys arrived at 10:30 - I normally start at 9 - and we were all free to go about our days. Though, to be honest, I don't think anyone did any work until after lunch.

Last weekend I re-discovered why I love it here so much, and I really do love it here. I am not ready to go home and leave all of this. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends, and getting on with my life, but I am going to miss it terribly.

Anyway, on Saturday I went to the Russian Winter Festival in Trafalgar Square. There were tons of people - more people than birds I'd say, which is hard to do. The festival was only alright, and I didn't stay that long. I picked up some free brochures on Moscow, listened to all the different accents and languages around me, watched some folk dancing, and then bought an over-priced hot dog and chips. But it was nice to experience a different culture.

Afterward I headed for Westminster, as I had not seen Big Ben since November! Gasp! I walked all around Parliament, through some parks, across the Hungerford Foot Bridge, and then along the river to the National Theatre, where I sat at a cafe. I wrote for a bit, and then browsed through the book stalls in front of the National Film Theatre, one of my favorite London activities, even though I've never bought a book.

Sunday I went to church and then sat at the Cafe Nero in Paperchase and wrote. I went to the British Museum for a bit as well, but just wasn't in a museum mood. I did sit in the Great Court and people watch though, which I thought a perfect Sunday activity.

This week has been work as usual, for the most part. It's slow around here so some days I have to hunt for things to do.

Wednesday I went and saw my first play in months, "Love Song" at the New Ambassador's, where I saw one of my favorite plays - "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" - the first time I was here. It starred Neve Campbell, Kristen Johnston, Cillian Murphy, and Michael McKean. Neve Campbell's acting disappointed me, but everyone else was wonderful. Kristen and Michael had great chemistry and played off each other well. And Cillian was very good at his role, which had comical and easy-going parts, as well as some more intense scenes. I've only seen him in Batman Begins, where he creeped me out supremely, so to see him in this role was nice. And he didn't creep me out. I knew nothing about the play before going, only that I got cheap student tickets and who was in it, but according to the program I read before the show, it was all about love. Love love love. I wasn't really in the mood for that, but it ended up being ok. It was about different types of love and was interesting and different, weird but in a good way, that makes you think, not makes you disturbed.

Tomorrow I am headed for Cardiff, Wales. If I end up going to Ireland in March I will have been to all parts of the UK. I am hoping that the weather holds out and doesn't disrupt my trains, or prevent from doing everything I want to do.

Lovely weekend wishes to all and will write again soon.

I felt the earth, beneath my feet. Sat by the river and it made me complete.

PICTURES ADDED: Tuesday 10:52 AM GMT.

Saturday was a perfect autumn day. Sun shining, blue sky, minimal wind. Perfect light jacket, pashmina, and walking-tour weather. Thanks to the Time Out London web site I found a site that has self-guided walking tours, so I printed a few off and set out on the “Bright Lights and City Squares” one. My goal for the tours is to see different parts of London, which this one didn’t really do, but I liked it all the same. And I stopped at every place and wrote in my new Paperchase journal, so I have more details here than you probably need.

It started at Grosvenor Square, where the American Embassy is located, as well as the British memorial to victims of September 11. I took Brook Street to get there, a cute street with lots of brick townhomes and cute little gardens. There were also some high-end shops, like Calvin Klein and Dolce and Gabbana. I also passed Claridge’s and Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant. I don’t really remember hearing much about him in the states, but he’s in the paper here all the time. The actual embassy was not that impressive, I must say. It looks like a typical American office building, like it was taken out of D.C. and plopped in the center of London. But the gold eagle and American flag on top made me smile.

The 9/11 memorial garden was very nice. Strong, oak pillars, benches, flowers indigenous to U.S. and UK, as well as a steel girder from the towers. Enscribed at the top was: “Grief is the price we pay for love.” I find it very interesting the way different people choose to memorialize the dead, especially those lost to such tragic circumstances. It can be with a garden, a sign, a tower or an empty chair. I thought the garden was simple, but beautiful, and served its purposes well. And as a juxtaposition, not 100 yards away was a simple wooden bench, dedicated to someone’s lost love. And just beyond that, and the one that brought tears to my eyes the quickest, a bench for someone’s dog: “Puff De La Rue, missed by his many friends in this square. A faithful dog with the heart of a lion.” I think when all is said and done, I’d be happy with a bench.

After the Square, and taking pictures of the monuments to FDR and Eisenhower, I went to Hanover Square and St. George’s Church. The square itself was un-impressive, but the church was nice and located on a busy street, just blending in. It’s where, among other dignitaries, Benjamin Disraeli and Theodore Roosevelt were married. This is one of the reasons I love London so much. For someone as fascinated and enamored with history as me, I love that every building, every street, has some basis in the past, some connection. And it’s not a reliance on or glorificiation of history, it’s just history. Roots are everywhere and I love that.

I then took a detour on my way to St. Martin-in-the-Field to the Waterstone’s in Piccadilly, the self-proclaimed largest bookstore in the world. Five floors, one of which has a bar, which I don’t really agree with since I think books are quite sacred. I made the mistake of looking around, and after stumbling upon a book I really really wanted, got sucked in to the 3 for 2 yet again. I am discovering that while I don’t allow myself to go in clothing stores when I’m on a budget, because I know I won’t be able to resist, I am also going to have to do the same for bookstores. I ended up purchasing these three: "A Human Being Died that Night: Forgiving Apartheid’s Chief Killer" by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela; "The Constant Gardner" by John le Carre I think; and "The Third Brother" by Nick McDonnell. I am very dubious of this last one, written by the 21-year-old Harvard wonder-child. It is less than 200 pages but has more than 100 chapters. But it’s about a journalist and I couldn’t resist. I finished the book on the Apartheid killer, which was really good. It had a lot more psychological analysis than I expected, but was incredibly interesting.

I had to walk down New Bond Street to get to Piccadilly. Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Donna Karan, Bvlgari, and of course, Burberry and Tiffany’s. I saw three people carrying the iconic blue/green Tiffany’s bags. Two were large and one was small. I was much more intrigued by the smaller bag. I’ve decided to officially add to my life’s to do list to go in to Tiffany’s and ask for a silver telephone dial. I am sure I will not be the first.

I then walked past Trafalgar Square. Or, as I like to call it HELL. The birds were in full force today. There must have been 200, all congregating on one point because stupid moronic people were feeding them. The freaking birds can’t even walk they are so fat, they just waddle from one person to the next with their beady eyes and fat chests. Though I did appreciate one tourist singing “Feed the Birds” under her breath. The only highlight of the approximate 3 seconds it took me to get to the other side.

I went past the church, and then on to the National Portrait Gallery. This was one of my favorite galleries the last time I was here, and not just because it’s where I saw Natalie Portman. But I don’t know if it’s because the exhibits had changed, or really there were just too many people, I didn’t stay long. I got lunch at Pret though and people-watched, and also bus-watched as a very-nearly Carolina blue double decker bus drove by, which made me smile, of course

I then headed to Leicester Square, which believe it or not, I had never been too. It’s in the heart of “Theatreland” so I’ve been all around it, but never to the actual square. It was madness, of course. I took a few pictures, wondered around, gave the evil eye to some bratty child who kept chasing after and kicking the pigeons, causing them to fly at me. All of course while the enabling parents just laughed. Ugh.

Next was Covent Garden, my first visit this trip. I never find anything I want to buy here, other than crepes, but it’s one of my favorite places. I feel like so many aspects of London converge here. There’s always a lot of people, but I don’t usually get angry and pushy here, don’t usually want to run in the opposite direction like I do on Oxford Street and such. I sat and watched some of the performers, even though some of them freak me out. But it got windy so I moved on. At this point I kind of abandoned the tour. I did walk past the Royal Opera House, which was pretty, and wondered through Holborn a bit. I ended up at a Café Nero on Oxford Street and read for a little, before making the long walk back home, interrupted as I bought my first two pashminas of the trip. I walked a lot, saw a lot, and in general had a just a really great day. I realize more and more how much I love this city, how it’s not just one thing, it’s just a feeling I get when I’m here that I can’t describe. And today just re-inforced that.

Sunday was much more relaxed, that seems to be the trend and I like it. Church, lunch with some of the young adults from the church, and then chilling the rest of the day with some internet time, reading, and such. For 5 pounds I bought a zippered sweater thing that says “London England” on the front. It’s horribly tacky and touristy but it’s really soft and makes me happy. I left my two favorite hoodies at home due to space constraints and I really needed something warm and soft to curl up in at the end of the day. So tacky or not, it was just 5 pounds and it makes me feel good.