London

Ahhhh I have to catch up. So London…I arrived in London and a good friend of my dads (and mine now) Gay picked me up at the airport. What a treat! Gay and her husband Mark graciously offered me their guest room in their apartment on very short notice. Not only that but then they cooked me dinner the night I got in. It was like arriving to family!

That night we stayed in but we did watch Big Brother (the reality tv show) because one of their friends, Marcus, was on the show. He was voted off that night…we will come back to that.

On Saturday I completely overslept apparently having turned off my alarm…I don’t remember that at all. Once I was up and properly filled with tea, I headed into London to meet my dads friend Stefani. I arrived at October Gallery where she lives and works just in time for lunch which was really nice. The October Gallery is kind of like an artist commune with a gallery, theatre space, meeting room and courtyard as well as rooms for people to rent and artists to stay in. It was really beautiful. Stefani and I had lunch then went to the British Museum to look at the African Section and then out to coffee. It was lovely to talk to her and was a nice day.

That night after dinner we went to the bar that hosts the weekly event called The Pit. It’s a dance party/social scene and Mark DJ’s there sometimes. So we got there at 8pm and left there at 3am. There were a TON of people and lots of good music and dancing. It was kind of a strange vibe because the pit has been going on for 30 years so there are a lot of 40 plus people but the bar is near a university so there are a lot of 20 minus people too. I felt a little in my own world. I was really enjoying sitting and people watching. And then Marcus (remember him…from Big Brother) came in. The Pit is his favorite hangout. It was so funny to watch all these people swooning over him. I was definitely ready for bed by the time.

On Sunday my friend Victoria (who I knew in Florida when I was a kid) came and picked me up and we went to Windsor and walked around the castle and had English Breakfast for lunch. It was a nice time! I spent the rest of the day lounging.

On Monday Morgan arrived. She was going to call from the airport but when 12:30 rolled around, Gay just gave me her cell phone and I went into town. I went to the Notting Hill Carnival (a HUGE street festival) and then Morgan called and they had gotten back to Dusty and Drew (her friends) apartment. After being in the Carnival for a while I realized it was a little too insane so we decided to meet up in Camden Town. A walk 3 tube stations away and about an hour later…Morgan and I were in Europe together….at last.

We went shopping with Dusty (who was in a couple NMSU shows) and his husband Drew and had a lovely day.

That night I took Gay and Mark out to a wonderful curry dinner.

On Tuesday morning Gay drove me to the airport (I cannot thank them enough for all they did for me) and found Morgan and away we went!