London

Okay, let's consider this power-blogging. With internet being this expensive and my time ticking down, I am going to sum up the last couple of days with a few pics (hopefully) and some point form story telling...

-my flight was five hours late. which meant leanne and my friend john met without me present, became the best of friends, hung out for a whole day in london before I even arrived.
-once on the plane, the flight was perfect. thank god.
-our hostel is great. very quiet being the middle of january. leanne isn't sleeping well but I am sleeping like a baby and have a warm spot for our front desk guy Will who is being exceptionally kind to us.
-saw Wicked last night and starting weeping at the first act finale. It was beyond words...especially the understudy playing Elpheba. I wanted to bear her children. Worth the 20 pound ticket...
-looked up at the London Eye, walked past Buckingham Palace, tried to mount some statues much to John's distress and had chips and gravy in the midst of tons of second hand smoke at a pub called The SHerlock Holmes.

-stared at the Thames and listend to Big Ben chime.
-got to see real Monet's and Van Gogh's and Renoir's at the National Art Museum. For free. Wild and squishy and wonderful.
-was attacked by pigeons. leanne liked it, I did not.
-marvelled at Trafalgar Square and all the flashy lights. Squealed with delight at the double decker buses. Almost got killed several times by the crazy drivers - again, much to John's distress.
-decided that John Weeks is an angel. he has taken care of every single inch of our trip, protecting us, guiding us, driving us, advising us. The minute we feel panicked we think 'john will make this better' and then he does. WE LOVE THE JOHN and are not sure how we will do without him in Italy.
-cancelled going to oxford tonight due to John having to stay at work late, leanne's lack of sleep and complications with her friends on the other end. instead, we are taking a day trip tomorrow out of town to see the less-like-london England...maybe even Stonehenge. Fly to Italy on Monday.
-Miss my MacBook like crazy. Miss Jax like crazy. Miss being able to go to bed with lights on...smashing into metal bunk beds with a 50 pound backpack in the pitch dark is not much fun.

-spent today in London's shopping district and was blown away at how much cooler these people are than us...the fashion is eons ahead of ours and the shops just get better and better and better. it was like dying and going to a piece of heaven.
-the weather: cold and windy and rainy. AKA very much like Vancouver. All of our cute clothes we have packed mean nothing to us. we wake up, shiver and put on simply the warmest stuff we have and don't care how huge and strange we feel.
-my backpack is sooooooooooooooo heavy.

-it feels like I am losing something every three minutes due to the fact that everything is in a different pocket or pack or pack pocket or some such thing. it is driving me crazy.
-i walked into an Apple store today the size of Moose Jaw. MacBooks as far as the eye could see, on people's laps, free to use for the public, big screens, small screens, iPod bars, media centres...it was orgasmic. it was hard to leave. did i mention i miss my MacBook??
-the toliets flush by yanking on a chain the swings up over your head. wierd. the keyboards have different placement for certain keys, decreasing my typing speed and the taxis are black. plus, everything here is really little. tiny. it is like living in a doll house.
-seems my body has decided to stop going to the bathroom. even though I am consuming much food and drink, I am not GOING...to the bathroom. maybe i am scared by the swinging chains??
-wearing a tank top, a tshirt, a money belt, a sweater, a vest and a jacket is making me feel like I weigh 400 pounds and giving me a complex. Ah, and the souls of my boots both cracked the first day I was here which means that the water seeps right up into my boots and soaks my feet. Had to buy new boots today. I can just hear my mother saying I TOLD YOU SO.
-strange to wake up in the morning and go downstairs and make breakfast in my pj's beside five men from Sweden, Germany, New Zealand and Wales. It is very intimate and creepy.

So, there it is...little bits at least. There are so many pictures to make photo galleries from when I get home, but can only and barely manage to unzip a few files from John, download them onto public desktops and attach them to blogs for the right now. I will keep attempting to work miracles to keep you updated...

For now, know that we are safe and exhausted and are definitely having a memorable time already. Go answer my Konkin Question and amuse me with better answers than the wierd one the first guy left...and send me your love energy. Will update you later this weekend with some news from other parts of England.

Until then I shall avoid Marmite and miss you all muchly.