Well I’m on a 10 day European vacation and it’s been just
wonderful so far. Today marks about the halfway point, and I’ve been mostly in
and around London. England is absolutely gorgeous. I’m staying about 40
minute’s train ride from the excitement of central London, and since the hotel
is in the countryside I can have my choice of urban exploration or a quiet, peaceful
walk. It really is the perfect spot.
Today I think I rather fancy a relaxed day here at the Stoke
Park Golf Course. The grounds are beautiful, and even the three mile walk to
town is pleasant, regardless of whether you planned to walk it or just couldn’t
find your bus stop. Slough is the name of the town. It’s all green fields, old
stone and brick wall fences, and houses each with their own names like “Wakerly
Manor”, and “Lion Lodge North”. Exactly what you’d imagine the English
countryside to be like.
I got a little lost the other morning and found a sign
marked “public footpath” which took me off the sidewalk, through some trees and
into a soggy-ish field of tall grass and old trees with crooked branches.
There, off to the left, was a large memorial. It was quite creepy once I read
what the monument said. But I should let you all judge for yourself.
BENEATH
THOSE RUGGED ELMS, THAT YEW-TREES SHADE.
WHERE
HEAVES THE TURN IN MANY A MOULDERING HEAP.
EACH
IN HIS NARROW CELL FOR EVER LAID.
THE
RUDE FOREFATHERS OF THE HAMLET SLEEP.
THE
BOAST OF HERALDRY, THE POMP OF POWER,
AND
ALL THAT BEAUTY, ALL THAT WEALTH E’ER GAVE.
AWAIT
ALIKE THE INEVITABLE HOUR:
THE
PATHS OF GLORY LEAD BUT TO THE GRAVE.
It
was clear to me that this marked the spot where some people either died or were
buried. Between the words on the monument, the old trees, and the fact that I
was in a field away from town I got a little case of the heebie-jeebies. I
didn’t stick around. I wanted to get to the train and head into the city, but
as I walked away I thought of how it would make a great place to ghost hunt
after dark if you were into that sort of thing.
The
first day I was in London I did a lot of sightseeing. I went to Big Ben, the
London Eye, Westminster Abbey, 221B Baker Street,
Buckingham Palace, and even bought myself a ticket to the London Philharmonic,
which was my first time going to the orchestra. But I did all of that alone; I
was by myself. I don’t mind that, not at all. In fact I quite enjoy it. But I
do still want human conversation and interaction while I’m out exploring. You
spend 10 hours walking around looking at stuff and passing thousands of people
but you don’t have a conversation with anyone, it feels a little lonely.
So
when I set out yesterday, I was feeling especially social, and I talked to
loads of people. I got into Paddington Station around noon and did some walking
around there. There’s a canal with little boats harbored all along it, some of
them are cafés or restaurants. It’s very charming; they call it Little Venice.
I came to this square where they had a few ping pong tables under a bridge, a
memorial statue, places to sit and various other things typical of a square. I
also saw this strange egg-shaped thing.
Now
this egg first made me curious, and then very happy. I had no idea how much fun
it would turn out to be. It was about the size of one of those spinning
strawberries they have at amusement parks, it reminded me of those very much. It
was just sitting there in the square, with a little opening to go into it. When
you got inside of it, there was a bench all the way around for you to sit. They
called it a sanctuary. On the stickers inside it said it was a spot to draw,
write, play music, etc. and you could connect to it via Bluetooth and play
music from your phone! Oh, I had a hay day. The sound was great in there. Once
I got my music on I was having so much fun. I was in there singing, journaling,
smiling at passersby like a weirdo… having a real good time for 30 minutes or
more. Obviously an amazing start to my day.
Anyway
the day went on after that. I walked around and went into shops, talked to
folks and enjoyed myself lots before the best bit even came. It was after dark
and I was going to meet up with someone who is a friend of a friend. When I lived
in Jersey I had a flatmate from the U.K. who became like family to me. Kyan was
raised here and studied contemporary dance before moving to the states to work
as a professional performer in Philadelphia. When he saw that I was in London
he offered to connect me to some of his friends. Any friend of Kyan’s is a
friend of mine, he’s an excellent human being.
Well
it happens that one of his friends, Jack, wanted to meet me but was working all
day. He invited me to come to the bar where he works to at least say hello.
Now, I love a good bar when I’m by myself and in a social mood; you can have so
much fun just making friends! But when the bar is a fancy upscale spot on the
43rd floor of The Shard, a famous London skyscraper, well that just
makes it even better!
Oblix
was amazing. The view was absolutely breathtaking. Of course for a bar that
advertises the best view of London (and rightly so) it was all windows. It
truly was a sight to be seen. Absolutely divine.
Plus,
it was a cultural gold mine in there. So many English friends to be made, I was
in socialite heaven. Oh, and I had fun with it. I made great friends with the
two bartenders who explained every fancy drink garnish and infused whisky I
asked about. They let me try their homemade chocolate coconut cream, which is
served warm on top of a cocktail and is in one of those CO2
containers they make homemade whipped cream in. It was delightful. They also chipped
off a chunk of ice from a huge block (and this was by far the clearest ice I’ve
ever seen) using a chisel and a mallet. Then they used a small tool with three
tines to whack at the ice until it was in small enough pieces to fit in a tall
rocks glass. I was amazed. This bar had all kinds of fancy tricks and things. We
got along very well for a while, Aganieshka from Poland and Mikel from Slovokia
were good friends of mine by the end of the night.
As
were William and Richard, two lawyers and old friends who were out to celebrate
Richard’s retirement. We had so much fun talking and getting along together
that when they left the bar to find some food, I went with them. We all settled
down into a restaurant up the street and ordered appetizers and another drink
and talked politics, culture, and social structure until they responsibly
looked up the train schedule to ensure I would eventually get home safely. It
was two hours from that point to when I did, but I made friends on the trains
and then with a man named Tony who was down on his luck at the bus station.
Finally,
around 2 am, I thought it best to catch a taxi back to the hotel and call it a
night. So that’s just what I did. Called it a night. Only because I had to.
There was no one else I could talk to, I had exhausted my supply of strangers
at that point. But it was all okay. I had the greatest time! And I definitely
got my share of both exploring alone and befriending and socializing with
strangers. England has been a joy, I truly loved it.
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| Happy egg |
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| Skylight in the happy egg |
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| Little Venice |
