How can walking hurt so much?

I think I have walked the entirity of London at least 6 times now. And ow, I hurt. But it always goes away by morning, leaving me to say 'I don't need no stinkin tube, I'll walk'. Why am I so stupidly stubborn, particularly when I don't know the way to walk? Going from Victoria to Oxford St today (2, I repeat 2 stops on the tube)took me 3-4 hours. Not because I was lost, more because I hadn't looked at a map and didn't really know where Oxford st was. But, eventualy I found it. That victory ws not enough though, I then decided I had to find my way home again. That only took about an hour, so I figure I'm getting much better. And along the way I found myself in Lizzie's garden... Palacio de Buckingham. It's really not a palace-y place though, more like a grand hall or something.

Anyway, today was supposed to be spent organizing a home and a job. Realized that's hard to do without a phone. So I headed to Oxford St, assuming I would find mobile dealers along the way. I did and made the decision which network to go with while walking home, but by the time I got back to Victoria the shop had shut. Maybe I shoud have taken the tube after all.

So tomorrow I will buy a phone, hunt for a home and look for a job. or maybe Sunday.

Oh - yesterday.. The Thursday tales... Outside of Ian's insistent hatred for London, he was a fantastic tour guide and we had a great day caching up! We were all over the place - Covent Garden; Out to Greenwich on the train that drives itself to see the observatory, stand the on line that divides the eastern & western hemispheres and where Greenwich standard time was created; for a traditional English lunch of pie, mash & liquor (parsely sauce); into the real city of London to see a monument to the great fire of 1666 and the old financial district; to the spectacular St James Cathedral (where ole Chuck married the blonde); a fantastic little pub for a traditional pint or 2; and back to Covent Garden for a posh supper. Can you say action packed or what? I highly recommend this tour to ll incoming visitors!

Will Hugh Marry Me?

I went back and stood in the crowd of by then thousands to catch a glimpse of the stars of Miss Congeniality 2 for the world premiere... turns out Sandra Bullock is the only star but she was very cool adn chatting & taking pics with the girls in front of me... I was so in with Sandy. There were a bunch of other stars before her but I didn't have a clue who any of them were. Honestly none. The damn Brits and their reality tv stars and crap pop singers.

So after the Sandy thrill I was going to work my way out of the crowd but couldn't. She was still near and I was in the front, so there was no going back. Thankfully, becasue who comes strutting down the pink carpet but my #1 boyfriend... Hugh Grant. of course he didn't talk to any fans or press (who needs people to like you when you're Hugh Grant?) but just seeing him in the flesh was enough for me.

The most fascinating part of it all was the photographers. They're all together near the entrance and the scream at the celeb for ages - and it doesn't sound like 'we love you' kind of screaming!

Off for a 'rinstastic' day with Ian!

The eagle has landed. I repeat...

So I'm here, safe & sound, in one piece, all of that stuff. Mom, Dad, and of course Miss Molly took me to Halifax yesterday afternoon. We eventually made it to the airport, the last 20km taking about as long as the previous 200 due to the mechanics of a Rogers' car (we jinx them, don't know how, don't know why, but we do). So Mom & I head in the terminal to see my flight highlighted in red... cancelled! The first flight I had ever reconfirmed was cancelled! We waited in line to see what my options were as we listened to the ever sympathetic Air Canada employees say "call your travel agent tomorrow to rebook" to my increasingly frantic fellow travellers. Nothing like a monopoly to demonstrate the fatastic customer service mentality of shut up or piss off.

But, then came my turn and there was Robert... my new favourite AC man (not that there had been any previous). He kept plunking away at the computer until he finally looked up and said "how many bags are you checking?" (it was okay that he was lacking in the friendliness factor, he had gotten me on a flight and therefore remains my bud). SO with some delays and an unexpected connection in St John's (lovely airport there), I arrived in London this morning at about 10:30 local time (that's 4 hours ahead of Atlantic Canada). I even lucked out and had an empty sat beside me for the St John's - London leg. I'm sure Robert did that special for me.

Arriving in Heathrow I hopped on the tube (which conveniently leaves from the basement of the terminal) and got myself in town and easily found the hostel. I was ready for a nap but couldn't check in until mid afternoon so I showered (nothing like wearing 2 backpacks on the tube to get a good stench going) and started walking about noon. I just wandered for a while, heading toward the Millenium wheel whenever I caught glimpses of it. I walked by Westminster Abbey, Parliament, said bonjour a Grand Benoir, and just continued to walk. I have now finally made my way to the Oxford Circus area (no elephants, just enough people to make it craaa-zy!) and am around the corner from where they are laying the pink carpet for tonight's premiere of Miss Congeniality 2. There was a crowd gathering but supposedly no celebs until about 6, so hopefully I'll catch them on my way out. Can't believe Sandra & I arrived in town the same day and didn't realize it - what are the chances? Obviously our people didn't connect... heads will roll.

Speaking of people not connecting... thanks for all the phone calls (and emails) the past few days, very sorry for those who I missed and didn't get a chance to return. In the words of Canadian legend Bryan Adams... "Cuts like a knife" ... nope sorry, "please forgive me" that's the one...