London and beyond

I went to London for a generously extended weekend. I had more than one reason to go. One of the big ones being S's bd. Not just any bd, the big three, oh! Oh my, soon it's my turn. Before me there's N and right after me AJ and not long after PM. Anyway, it means a lot of saving up has to be done, as these three-oh's kind of demand presents which matter a bit more than a piece of clothing or some make-up.

Anyways, the bd went fine, the present was well appreciated and it was really nice that all of us from the closest circle had made the effort to fly to London. I think that's what made S the happiest. It was like old times again.

What was different from my normal visits to London, was that first of all - i didn't do any shopping. (I always regret that slightly when i'm back home because i don't like shopping here.) Secondly, i got out of London, which is a nice change. P took me to Bath and surroundings. Lovely little town. Nothing really special about it, just kind of...nice. It's strange, how different can London and the rest of England be. London is the most cosmopolitan city i have ever seen, with as many people of different races, nationalities, sizes, styles as one can imagine. Yet, when you get out of London to the more rural areas, it's all "old-english", like out of some old book - the local pubs, named Crown, Swan etc, little villages with narrow roads and people gossiping about whats going on in the neighbouring villages.

We stayed one night at this old-english bed&breakfast. When we arrived, it was dark already and as we entered, the door squeeked (of course) and we were greeted by this old man welcoming us to the house and showing us to our room. It was all very quiet and despite him stating otherwise we seemed to be the only guests that night. It was a big house, with very high ceilings and big rooms but still unbelievably stuffy. The kind, where you get the feeling you cannot breathe unless you open the window and you have to speak in a whisper. I was quite certain that at night in the big living room there would be secret gatherings and people from the village would wear masks and sacrifice small animals and on a bigger occasion, virgins.

The old man, however, unknowingly managed a joke of the day. He was showing us where we can turn the lights off and he went like: "We just got this new headboard for the bed, which is lovely, but it's just couple of inches too big." Me and P looked at each other and as he left the room, burst out laughing. I don't know where to start whith all the things wrong with that headboard. It was absolutely hideous and did not match anything else in the room and it surely did not look new.

And what do you do in Bath, if not take a bath in a spa with natural spring water, a 3 hour long night spa, to be precise, with some food and a glass of wine. Not bad! All-in-all, it was all just chill and relax for couple of days. On the way back to London we took a look at a big white horse and Stone henge (just because it was on the way), which was smaller than i remembered from the last time i saw it, 10 years ago. I can't believe i'd paid money to see it back then. In the airport, i must admit, i had to do some shopping to make me feel better about having to go back to work. Oh, and that's it, it's a wrap. Til next time, London and England.