The Last Night of the Fair
My plans for London are mostly unambitious. I lived here for 3 months during my study abroad semester in college. Strangely, I do not recognize almost any familiar landmarks. I am fairly positive that the city has not drastically changed in the last five years, yet even while cruising down Camden Road, I recognized little besides the Sainsbury's at which I once shopped.
Eve's place is slightly out of the way, which also gives me less incentive to get on a bus, a tube and then foot for the sake of a Central London tourist attraction.
Also, I'm tired. True, I have only been on the road for about 10 days, but I am itching for a real bed, sheets and a private shower. Just one night. I think I can hold out until Spain for that, because for now, London is only moderately less expensive than Iceland.
Still, let us reflect upon the events of yesterday. And let us conclude that yesterday was a good day.
Eve, Jesse and I had a relaxed breakfast at a diner in the neighborhood. I had ham, an egg, a sausage, beans, buttered bread and a cup of coffee.
Then, Eve and I took many forms of transportation to the Notting Hill Carnaval which appeared to be celebrating Trinidadian culture. I know almost nothing about Trinidad, so the experience was highly educating.
Elaborate costumes, lots of butt shaking and an abundance of open containers. The street carnival was, I admit, a bit crowded. I'm not sure if I have ever seen more people packed into city streets. This outdid the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. I enjoyed the learning experience of watching the people, but also came to the conclusion that London is not so terribly friendly of a city. People in Reykjavik were much more courteous, even when drunkenly roaming the streets in the late hours of the morning. Eve asked a policeman for directions and we squeezed past and through some Trinidadians to fresh air.
We took a short trip to Camden Town, my old home in London, only to find that I had forgotten everything about it. I could not even identify for certain the Indian restaurant at which I ate several times a week. Sad. Simultaneously, I felt an overwhelming nostalgia for the place and I admit, got a touch emotional.
A bus or two to Angel for lunch/dinner at Wagamama (Japanese noodle shop that I had been actively missing ever since I left London in 2000). Never disappointing! And back to the apartment.
Pub quiz in Hackney (team name: "I hate you as a friend"). Eve and Jesse were impressive (Bertrand Russell!? Gladiolus?!) but my contributions were few and not entirely helpful. Perhaps I need to spend an even more disproportionate amount of my time on Wikipedia than I do.
I think I may be coming down with a cold.
Eve's place is slightly out of the way, which also gives me less incentive to get on a bus, a tube and then foot for the sake of a Central London tourist attraction.
Also, I'm tired. True, I have only been on the road for about 10 days, but I am itching for a real bed, sheets and a private shower. Just one night. I think I can hold out until Spain for that, because for now, London is only moderately less expensive than Iceland.
Still, let us reflect upon the events of yesterday. And let us conclude that yesterday was a good day.
Eve, Jesse and I had a relaxed breakfast at a diner in the neighborhood. I had ham, an egg, a sausage, beans, buttered bread and a cup of coffee.
Then, Eve and I took many forms of transportation to the Notting Hill Carnaval which appeared to be celebrating Trinidadian culture. I know almost nothing about Trinidad, so the experience was highly educating.
Elaborate costumes, lots of butt shaking and an abundance of open containers. The street carnival was, I admit, a bit crowded. I'm not sure if I have ever seen more people packed into city streets. This outdid the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. I enjoyed the learning experience of watching the people, but also came to the conclusion that London is not so terribly friendly of a city. People in Reykjavik were much more courteous, even when drunkenly roaming the streets in the late hours of the morning. Eve asked a policeman for directions and we squeezed past and through some Trinidadians to fresh air.We took a short trip to Camden Town, my old home in London, only to find that I had forgotten everything about it. I could not even identify for certain the Indian restaurant at which I ate several times a week. Sad. Simultaneously, I felt an overwhelming nostalgia for the place and I admit, got a touch emotional.
A bus or two to Angel for lunch/dinner at Wagamama (Japanese noodle shop that I had been actively missing ever since I left London in 2000). Never disappointing! And back to the apartment.
Pub quiz in Hackney (team name: "I hate you as a friend"). Eve and Jesse were impressive (Bertrand Russell!? Gladiolus?!) but my contributions were few and not entirely helpful. Perhaps I need to spend an even more disproportionate amount of my time on Wikipedia than I do.
I think I may be coming down with a cold.
posted by Jed at 1:46 AM
4 Comments:
Hey Jed -- glad to hear that you've been having a good time. I completely understand how you must feel in London, as I bet it's pretty similar to how I felt in Paris. Though for some reason my memory of places is a bit clearer than yours, I think. Has Camden changed much in the last five years? Is this your first time back since then?
Also totally hear you on the lodging comforts. My biggest wants right now in that department are sleeping without having to use earplugs, and having clean feet.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I'm not exactly sure how to respond to your comments individually so I will do so collectively.
LC: Camden hasn't much changed. My memory is just shoddy. This is my first time back since then.
CL: I hadn't even heard of the Notting Hill Carnival, but I am not at all surprised about the stabbing. I purchased my ticket for Brighton about an hour ago. I'm not staying there overnight though. Hopefully I won't be missing out on too much.
Very well. I shall stay not overnight then! For now, I'm sitting in the hostel near London Bridge trying to figure out what to do with myself. Today I went to the Natural History Museum too. Very preeeettttty!
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