Day 2, August 5, 2011

We got a late start this morning.  We did not leave the house until after 11.  The weather was perfect.  Think warm Spring Florida day weather.  The kind of day that makes all of us say, "Wouldn't it be great if all days were like this."

The neighbourhood we are staying in has a large Muslim population.  We walked to the tube (subway) station and along the way I saw in the window of a store, a poster of a woman modelling a hijab.  That's the whole dress without the facial cover.  It was kind of silly because each pose looked exactly alike.  Kind of like this...

 except of course, it looked more like a great big garbage bag with a hole for the face.

We got our passes and boarded the train.  I got one lady to speak to me and another kept looking and smirking but trying really really hard to pretend she wasn't listening.  She failed miserably.  I have a confession.  I have a juvenile fear of escalators.  This was the steepest escalator I have ever been on.  Couldn't wait to get off of it.

We got all the way to Buckingham Palace but the queen had not put us on the guest list.  She obviously has not gotten over our issues.  We did get two friendly policeman to pose for us.  When they saw one sinister looking member of our bunch they drew their weapons!  Maybe they thought the little guy was armed, or hiding something.

We found a man dressed like a guard.  Not sure if he really was one or not.  He was carrying a credit card machine, so he was either pretending and charging for his photo, or he was a real one and raising money for the queen's dentist bill.

We went next to Westminster Abbey but the lines (queues) were so long and they do not allow anyone to enter after 3:30 so we headed home instead. 

We stopped and got dinner on the way home.  I meant to take some pictures of my food but I ate it first (sorry Steve).  I stopped in a Lebanese restaurant and got what we would call lamb pastry, a vegetable pastry, and a bunch of onion rings.  They have a much more exotic name for these things.  I didn't learn until a couple of hours later that it is Ramadan.  They fast from sun up until sun down during Ramadan so the food was a bit stale.  Tasty, but stale.  The man told me it was a bit spicy but "not too spicy, like  a mild perfume makes things better, mild spice."  I told him that if it made me cry I would return and tell him all of my problems.  I made him promise, then asked him to "pinkie promise". I told him what a pinkie promise is. (Sorry Jesse, but I told you I just couldn't leave the place the way I found it.)   We went back to the house and ate.  Then Bob and I went to a pastry shop around the corner.  That is where I learned it is Ramadan.  We got some Lebanese pastries and I wished the man behind the counter an easy fast.  Then we headed off to discover more of the neighbourhood.  Imagine my delight when we discovered a coffee shop!  This was to be my first international incident, and I am sorry to say, that despite stern warnings and serious breeching from my friend Jesse, I could not leave England as I found it.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: I would like a cup of coffee please

Man behind the counter: Ok, what kind would you like?

Me: What are my choices?

Man behind the counter: Espresso, cappuccino, blah, blah, blah...

Me: Oh, uh... no plain ol' coffee?

Man behind the counter: Silence accompanied by a blank stare followed by "espresso, cappuccino, Americano..."

Me: Ooh, Americano.  What's that?

Man behind the counter: Blah blah blah with a little blah blah blah

Me: Oh uh...

Then the lady behind the counter said, "How about a couple of shots of espresso with some milk?"  I didn't really know if that was like our coffee so when I didn't respond right away because I was thinking, she continued, "Would you prefer a watery base or a milky base?"  I thought How about something in between?  We agreed to try two shots of espresso with some milk and sugar.  Then I asked what fly tipping is.  She said she was from Brisbane and had no idea but thought maybe it was when we leave our stuff out for people to take like a couch for example.  Then an English woman showed up so I asked her about fly tipping.  She explained that it is putting the garbage out for collection before your collection day.  I suspect that she isn't really English at all because she was rather chatty and friendly.  She asked how we found ourselves in this neighbourhood and then suggested that we take a walk near the canals.  Hope that's not English for "Take a walk lady..." 

I had to ask the girl behind the counter a question about Australian men.  "Are Australian men flirtatious in general?"  It is a question that has been plaguing me for a while now.  She said "No, I find European men much more flirtatious, especially the Italians and French," then she pointed the guy behind the counter and said, "He's from both of those places."  The poor guy got the most embarrassed look.  Then she continued, "A friend of mine was in Italy and Greece WITH her boyfriend and men were calling out to her."  I told her that in America that is called cat-calling. (Sorry again, Jesse)

So, it is now 8:00 and we are home for the evening.  Tomorrow we are going out without the children.  I have places to go, things to do, and people to see, mostly dead people, but even they should be visited every once in a while. 

-Diana

P.S. Two shots of espresso with some milk and sugar does not American coffee make.