June 24, 2008: London

Hello from surprisingly sunny England! We'll live on blogging irregularly from the northern hemisphere over the side past times side few weeks, on a trip that combines pocket-sized doses of operate on Cindy's purpose amongst sight-seeing in addition to plenty of vegetarian eating for the both of us.

Due to the vagaries of our ridiculous go plans (Cindy returns to Commonwealth of Australia from the U.K. via Chattanooga, spell I caput dorsum through Tokyo), it made feel (financial feel anyway) for the 2 of us to wing inward to London approximately 6 hours apart. This meant that I turned upward at Heathrow at nigh 7:30 inward the morning; tired, hungry in addition to alone. After finding a identify to stash my luggage for the solar daytime I headed off to Marylebone Lane for approximately breakfast, based on the Lonely Planet Guide’s recommendation. After fruitlessly strolling upward in addition to downward the lane in addition to failing to notice they served upward on our see 2 years ago, then I was hoping that the brekkies would overstep muster. Unfortunately they were pretty ordinary – plainly the U.K. lags a long agency behind Commonwealth of Australia when it comes to cooked breakfasts, it’s the stodgy total English linguistic communication or nothing. Mine at to the lowest degree came amongst approximately vego sausages (which were fine, but non much meliorate than those y'all tin purchase from Safeway). The beans tasted similar Heinz, the toast was a piddling mutual frigidity in addition to the poached eggs were poached beyond recognition, leaving only difficult piddling balls of yolk. Still, amongst a big splash of Lycopersicon esculentum sauce, this was all filling in addition to tolerable plenty to fuel me upward for approximately explorations of London.

Without the mental unloosen energy to guide maintain inward galleries or history, I spent most of my solar daytime wandering through Regent’s Park checking out the collection of exotic waterbirds (there was fifty-fifty a dark swan from Australia).

The commons led me upward to Primrose Hill – an pinnacle of nigh v metres that gives y'all a stance across all of London.

I staggered my agency dorsum to the subway in addition to establish my agency to Beatroot for tiffin (alas I forgot to guide maintain pictures – it’s a buffet agency vego identify where y'all produce total upward a tiffin box amongst a diversity of salads, stir-fries in addition to other treats – inexpensive in addition to delicious). This led me into the depths of West End hell – crowds of people, traffic in addition to dissonance – it was all also much for me inward my delicate state. Luckily, it was fourth dimension to consider Cindy, then I stumbled downward to Holborn station for our 3pm rendezvous. Thanks to slight delays at all stages of her trip, this turned into a 5:30pm rendezvous, pregnant that past times the fourth dimension we’d headed out to Kings Cross to alternative upward my luggage it was fourth dimension for us to brand our agency to our temporary dwelling household at Emily in addition to Sam’s place. This was a haven from the confusion outside: familiar faces, a comforting home-cooked repast of warmly spiced chickpea stew followed past times banana in addition to grapefruit upside-down cake in addition to in conclusion a soft mattress to telephone phone our own, at to the lowest degree for 3 nights.