the underground is for lovers

Back from our weekend in London with very few pictures but sufficiently sore feet to show for it.

This was Dean's second time in the Capital and my fifth so we tried to strike a balance between seeing the sights Dean missed on our previous dramatic whirlwind tour and exploring some new areas—including ones we didn't even know existed!

a quick rundown...

Best Flashback to Grade 11: My first impressions of London were that it had its own smell (which I now know to be a combo of diesel fumes, sickly sweet British laundry detergent and a thousand food stalls) and that people were way too amorous on the tube. Now seeing Londoners in the midst of an Indian summer, teeming on the sidewalks outside pubs and clubs, I see that the latter is due to the dominance of singles. They are not amorous because London fosters l'amour the way that, say, Paris does. They are amorous because they are on their way home to a one night stand. When you never get past the second date, the passion never dies.

Best New Discovery: the Borough Market. On a hot Friday afternoon the streets were packed a dozen thick with suits and office gals enjoying a cold pint outside their pub of choice while across the cobbled street stalls overflowed with produce and flowers. Gorgeous.

Best Fundraising Initiative: Gibson's GuitarTown at More London. The city put Vancouver's silly orca and grizzly statue campain to shame with artist-customized guitars signed by the biggest and best of British Rock Royalty to be auctioned off later this year.

Best Brush with Fame:: En Route to Harrod's via South Kensington I had one of those "where have I met him before?" moments as we strolled by Quentin Tarantino on a quiet side street.

Best Halloed Ground: Westminster Abbey. I was 16 when I last visited the graves of London's former royalty and greatest poets. Now on the other side of a lit minor, I think I appreciated the Poet's Corner much much more.

Best Way to Cross the Thames: I've now taken a total of six routes across the Thames. The Tower Bridge is by far the most spectacular. Which is good because I crossed it three times in one day.

Best Gift Shop: The Design Museum. We arrived 15 minutes before closing. I just scratched the surface of the gift shop.

Best Free View: Primrose Hill. Though from that vantage point I did not manage to spot Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Pearl Lowe, or any of the neighbourhood's more infamous residents.

Best Meal: Feng Sushi on Stoney Street. Expensive by Vancouver standards but not London's. Incredibly fresh sashimi by anyone's standards. Runner up goes to the Italian place in the Covent Garden Piazza—not necessarily for the food, but certainly for the entertainment.

Best Movie Moment: Walking through Notting Hill and hearing someone behind me whistling Elvis Costello's "She"

Best Tribute to True Love: The Prince Albert Memorial in Kensington. I guess when you rule the western world you can spare no expense when immortalizing your dead husband. Runner up: The Dianna Memorial in Kensington Park... though I guess that wasn't true love, was it?

Have I missed anything Dean?