girl at large

PROs:
the cooler weather, but not so much the spittles of random rain
the Tube is convenient
the Pubs
the Cream and High teas (though we did tea in place of our usual naps..it's a tie)
CONs:
the rain, though the cooler weather was enjoyable
the Tube is really crowded and kinda dirty (is that where the black boogers originated?)
very, very early last call at the Pubs..11:30pm. (mom swears our reduced wine intake is responsible for our, um, how to word this delicately?..back ups)
the coffee (sorry, but French cafes just have that beat hands down)

other notable outings:
the yummily morbid Titanic Artefact Exhibition at the Science Museum. we were given boarding passes at entry, told to check at the end if our passenger shown survived or was lost. mom thought it was telling that though we checked for "ourselves", neither Peg nor i checked on the status of our "husbands"! oops.
i could have stayed all day at the National Portrait Gallery. but i don't think mom could listen to me whine about the average birthyear ( '81?! '84?!?!) of the current BP Portrait Award winners any longer.
cream tea at the famous Fortnum and Mason. great tea, but why do they serve it with day-old KFC biscuits?

i can't even begin to explain. let's just say it's good way to pass Tube-time..my personal fav, sister Peg's: Woman's Wool Daily. oh, and The Silence of the Lamb was good too.

organizer-extraordinaire Anna had pre-booked a private pod (there is achampagne and strawberries option, can you believe it?) on the London Eye for Friday afternoon. (thank goodness for that itinerary of hers!). Ryan skipped out, begging height issues, which i completely understand. it moves very slowly, but there were a few moments when i had to hug that wooden bench in the center of the ALL GLASS pod. Alice and Patsy did not have that problem at all, note the full-body press against the glass in the last shot. we were having such a good time chatting and goofing about with the camera, i suspect we missed some of the splendor…the views were spectacular. as the girls and i discussed, this ain't no Six Flags Great America.
ok, busted..i had a little too much fun with the self-portrait setting on the digital camera.

we were finally able to meet up with Peg's husband Ryan on Friday night..he's working long, hard hours. we spent alot of time on the the Tube. note little Peg's head turtling up for the picture, that's a classic pose in our family album poor thing. the happy married couple. (i can't even go into it or i'll pee myself laughing, but my dear sister Margaret actually used the phrase "the sanctity of the marital bed" seriously, without sarcasm, bless her heart.) out for an Italian birthday dinner (did we only eat pasta as teenagers too?) where Peg happily received two of my paintings as gifts..Interior with dog from me that she had requested ages ago and Coursegoules from Aunt Anna. i also hand delivered Anna's purchase, La Tishie Mae, which i am happy to report she loves. they cut the lights to sing Happy Birthday..but there were no candles on the cake/pie, so why no lights? funny.
spending some time with Peg at her temporary company apartment in the Islington/Angel area, note mom and i having our smokes out the window. with Peg at a pub in our hotel's neighborhood; Earl's Court in Kensington and Chelsea.

"that's pronounced Baahth girls". "thanks Per". gorgeous city, much larger than we all expected and well worth the driving time. it's made entirely of the same golden colored stone..really looks very much like some French towns we toured when i was younger. Anna and Peg take a look at the pool. sorry, i missed the shot of Alice's sunglasses falling in. Mom and Alice taste test the water from the Roman Baths. Alice's verdict: "It was rank". Patsy's got that posing bit down pat, except when she and Alice are zonked out in the back of the van on the ride back.

Salisbury Cathedral; a really big church (i'll remember all my life that the spire is 404 ft. high, thanks Per) in a small town. cute shops. great gardens. Peg's question has yet to be answered; something about the origins of the name of a popular American grade school hot lunch. this is one of only two complete group shots, lucky we had Per to take this one for us. pick up some sandwiches, back on the van again!

forgot to mention, the evening before our van tour, we did all meet up for the Jack the Ripper Haunts Walking Tour. it was rather creepy, the guide was a good story teller. and the weather cooperated for the mood..gray and drizzly.

day one, when all parties (Aunt Anna and Cousin Alice via Chicago, Cousin Patsy via Paris) had arrived, we took a van tour first to Stonehenge. it was a cool, gray day..a nice change from the French heat wave. Sister Peg and Mom concentrate on their audio lesson in preparation for the end of tour exam. i found the contraption interferred with lighting cigs, holding an umbrella and brushing away little no-see-ums; it made in interesting bracelet though. Peg balances a stone on her head. "Hey Patsy!" (glamourous head turn, swoosh of hair into wind, big smile):"Yes?" that kid can sense a camera a mile off. hmm..wonder why that sounds familiar? Me and Peg..or as it appears, me and mini-me. back on the van kids!