Chapter 1b. London proper

And so, about 24 hours after landing in Heathrow and our briefest of stays in the country, to London we went! Another 45 minutes in the train, 20 on the tube and another 20 or somewhat confusedly on foot, and we had made it to the next resting-spot for our enormous luggage: our host's beautiful inner-London flat.

We left our pile of possessions in an orderly pile and set out to explore the city. We stopped in at The Albert, a watering hole that Jamie knew, for a pint, then meandered along the Thames with only the vaguest of plans that vaguely involved food, we came upon an enormous pink circus tents of sorts--an eyesore from an incredible distance--in the shape of an upside-down cow: the Udderbelly Festival, a UK/Euro troupe from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival who had installed themselves in the heart of the City.

We decided that the Udderbelly Festival was our destination, so we saw a young French comedian named Marcel Lucont perform a somewhat crass, often insulting, but overall hilarious set.

Jamie with a flyer for Marcel Lucont and
what would be our dinner that night

After the show, we found all the food merchants in the festival closed for the night. We were able to get a beer and wander around the AstroTurf environment and I took some photos of the illuminated trees and miniature picket fences and us.

The walk home along the river was cool and sobering. (Especially sobering after we found an off-license that sold us some curry-pot-pies or some such colonial import, which now composes the crème de la crème of 'British' cuisine.) With cheap, starchy calories in our bellies, jetlag in our wings.

Westminster Abbey, from the street in front of the home
where we stayed in London