It's freezing cold and the people are rude. I must be back in London! I must be 'home'....
A month in France has left me linguisticly confused....while i'm ever so grateful to be back in english-speaking-land I keep finding myself saying 'merci' to shopkeepers as they hand me my purchase and 'pardon' (the french way) when I bump into someone on the train....
Coming back to England I decided to spend a quiet couple of days in London itself with Alex before heading back down south. Planning a day to myself to take in the fact that i was back and quietly reminice about the good times in France I took myself off to Greenwich. Famous, of course, for the fact that it is 0 on the median line (or something or other) Greenwich has a lot more going for it than that just that. Crazily and unexpectedly the day had dawned with sunshine (*gasp*) so i spent some time in the big park....sitting in the sunshine and watching the locals taking their dogs for a run....before heading off to visit the various museums and art gallaries in the royal observatory and surrounds.
Later, meeting Alex for a drink in East London I was surprised by her choice of meeting place. Alex is my ultimate gal-about-town in London. She knows all the places of the moment, is up with all the latest happenings...and if a restaurant is cool she knows it. So when she suggested meeting at the 'Commercial Tavern' I had to wonder....to me it sounded like some sort of back street pub for the local factory workers! I couldn't have been more wrong....nestled into a tiny corner in Shoreditch the pub is eccentric and quirky in all the right ways....with a mismatch of chandeliers hanging above the bar and brightly floralled wallpaper the crowd was super hip and the decor super fun.
Moving on for some food we stumbled across 'Pizza East'...pretentious, said Alex. but gorgeous if we are deined good enough for a table....the place was packed at 7.30 on a tues night but somehow we must have been deined good enough and found ourselves at the bar watching the hot italian chefs toss around their dough without a care in the world. oh...and the food was good too.
The main reason for my little stay in London was our next activity. A teeny tiny venue in Shoreditch was hosting Art Vs Science - a well known band from sydney who haven't yet made it big over here - thus the small venue - a bonus when seeing aussie bands in england...I have learnt, over the years, to trust Alex's taste in music. She is much more 'up' on the scene than i am (even the australian scene despite the fact she lives in london) and, though i only knew one song from this band ('Parle Vous Francaise'...a song which i clearly adore for the lyrics if nothing else...!) I wanted to go along for a little dance anyway....and dance we did....the music was awesome, the band breathtaking live and the crowd well into it...! what a fun night...
Every now and then - more often than not - london turns on the perfect day for me. Yesterday was another one.
I do love this city.
Till next time.
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