I cleaned a bit, had a bite to eat and then decided I desperately needed some coffee. I was out of mine at home and it didn’t make sense to buy any more since I was about to leave. So I headed out to Starbucks and decided to walk around a bit, ultimately planning to end at the British Museum, which had a Montezuma exhibit that I wanted to see and I knew this would be my last chance to see it.

Well, I’m not sure what happened to the unseasonably warm weather from the past week, but it all changed today. It dropped to about 5-7 degrees Celsius (that’s 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit for my fellow Americans) and it was raining, so it was both cold and wet. Yuck.

I walked the 2 blocks to Starbucks and, despite the rain, decided I’d explore the area a bit more. I walked the one direction I had not ventured to and found myself in Bloomsbury Park, which is just a little park, but very lovely. Then I wandered around a few more streets toward the British Museum. Here I would have thought that given how cold and wet it was that all the Londoners would have stayed inside. No, apparently, they all decided to go to the British Museum. There was a line out the door, past the gates and literally halfway down the block. I stood there for a minute to see if it was for something special and/or moving quickly. Neither. Well, so much for the British Museum. I was not about to stand in that line in the rain. So, I SAW the British Museum, but didn’t go into it. I’ll miss the Montezuma exhibit, but I’ll catch the museum another time.

I walked back to my flat and decided I’d just spend the rest of the day doing laundry, doing a little cleaning and taking it easy. After all, I had an exciting weekend and I was content with that. It was a somber day – somber in a good way.

Monday, 2 November 2009
Worked all day long from my flat so I could do more laundry. Clothes still wrinkled even though fresh out of the dryer. Gotta love the English washing machines/dryers. Finished cleaning that evening, called it a night.

Tuesday, 3 November 2009
Worked all day at Fitch, getting final things together before we all headed to the event in Berlin. Tuesday night, I met up with my friend Anthony. We went to The Village for a couple drinks, then to Balan’s for dinner. I got to hear him gush about Andrew (sorry, guys, I had to put that in here!), but it was all very cute. Then we called it a night, as I still had to finish packing. It was great to see him again before I left. I’ll actually be seeing him (and Andrew) in NYC for New Year’s Eve.

Back to my flat to finish packing. How on earth I fit all the stuff in my luggage that I acquired over the past 3 weeks is beyond me, but I did. I forget what time I ended up going to bed, but it was late by the time I had everything packed and ready to go.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009
My flight was at 11:00, so I was up early to get ready, pack the final items and then grab a taxi to the airport. I lugged all my bags into the hallway and stepped back into my flat. Well, “the” flat as it was no longer mine. I was incredibly sad to leave, as it was such an amazing experience. But, despite feeling glum, I had a big smile on my face as I looked around the flat, remembering all the quirky things about it that took me a while to get adjusted to.

Goodbye, weird half-wall on the shower that always leaked water out.
Goodbye, high-pitched noise from the wireless router that would make dogs howl.
Goodbye, oven that I never did figure out correctly.
Goodbye, washing machine that is powered by a light switch.
Goodbye, dryer that leaves your clothes wrinkled.
Goodbye, rubbish bin.

I schlepped my bags downstairs and passed the doorman. Goodbye, Keith. To which he looked up from the online games he was playing, gave his usual grunt and went back to his games.

Into the taxi. Goodbye, Aria House. Goodbye, Holborn neighborhood.

Through the streets of London. Goodbye, Soho. Goodbye, my favorite bars and restaurants.

Past Hyde Park. Goodbye, Hyde Park. Goodbye, Kensington Gardens and the Peter Pan statue.

To the highway and to the airport, bags checked in, on the flight and … well …

Goodbye, London.

Friday, 30 October 2009
04:15: Alarm went off and thank heaven for adrenalin, as I had just gone to bed at 01:00 after working until almost 23:00 and then getting home, packing and getting ready for bed. I will say this is the lightest I think I’ve ever traveled in my life. All I had was a backpack with a couple change of clothes and limited toiletries. Yes, I left most of my product behind. Gasp! I left my laptop, too. Had my phone if necessary. It was rather liberating!

05:00: Out the door and to the tube, only to discover it doesn’t start until 05:30. Oops. So I grabbed a taxi and headed to Paddington. Taxi driver tried to convince me to let him take me all the way to the airport, as he heard about train delays at Paddington, but I decided to take my chances. I could always grab a taxi from the train station if he was in fact correct. And once I got there, he was not correct. Trains were all on time.

05:25: Heathrow Express train from Paddington to Heathrow Airport. I popped in my headphones and was in the mood for some Beatles, so kicked back on the train while “Yesterday” was playing.

05:40: Arrived at Heathrow, checked in and grabbed coffee and a croissant at Costa while I was waiting for my flight. I also bought a travel guide on Edinburgh so I could map out a few things I wanted to do, though Carver pretty much had things planned out already.

06:30: Boarded my flight.

06:50: Flight to Edinburgh took off and I was asleep within minutes, trying to catch a bit of ZZs before landing and hitting the ground running.

08:15: As the plane descended into Edinburgh, the sun was rising over the rolling, lush hills while the fog was lifting. You can’t get this stuff in a movie, people. It was spectacular! I snapped some pics from the plane window, but they just don’t do it justice.

08:20: On the ground in Edinburgh. I hopped on the bus into town and texted Carver to make sure he was awake. The bus was a double decker and I sat upstairs, just a few rows from the front giant window so I could see out. It was pretty foggy and I couldn’t see much, so I drifted in and out as we passed through the little towns en route to the city of Edinburgh. I got startled awake once as I heard someone fall down the stairs of the bus. Oops. He wasn’t hurt – more embarrassed.

09:00: Got to the bus terminal in Edinburgh and a few minutes later met up with Carver. Let the adventure begin!

At this point forward, I won’t be able to outline the exact timing of things as we just truly took off exploring and didn’t stop. We first stopped in a coffee shop that Carver had been to the day before. He had made a friend who showed him around the area the night before so he was already quite knowledgeable on the area and where we should go. Carver choked down a few sips of a white chocolate coffee something or other. It was gross. I stuck to an Americano and a pastry for breakfast.

We were next going to head to the bed and breakfast to drop my bag. Carver and I decided to stay at a gay B&B and share a room to keep costs down. Having never traveled with Carver before, this could be interesting. We both acknowledged up front that we might hate each other by the end of the trip, as we’ve only known each other since January and hung out together at a few industry events. But hey, it was an adventure. We walked to the B&B and were talking the entire time … and walking … and walking and walking until Carver realized we must have passed the street. We pulled out a map and yea, we passed the street by several blocks. At this point we were halfway to the ocean, which we both wanted to see, so we decided to just keep walking. After all, I just had my backpack.

We followed our maps along the cobblestone streets of Edinburgh and finally arrived at the ship terminal. It’s not really the ocean, just the bay and the area we got to was fairly industrial. Not much to see, but it was a nice walk. At this point we decided we’d take the bus back to the B&B. We bought a day pass so we could hop on and off the buses all day if needed. It was only £6, so was a pretty good deal for an all-day bus pass. Carver and I sat on the 2nd level right in the front of the window so we could look out over everything as we traveled. We took goofy pictures of each other, pretty pleased with ourselves that we just randomly each flew up to Scotland for a quick adventure. As the bus traveled along the streets, I started waving to people in the passing buses. You’d be amazed how many people waved back!

We got to the B&B. It’s a gay B&B named Garlands. Carver, apparently, did not make the connection to Judy Garland. I’m taking away his gay card. The house was charming, decently decorated and our room was fine. It had 2 European twin beds (so no, I didn’t have to share a bed with Carver for those of you who know him!), a little sitting area and a decent bathroom. Was good enough for 2 mates for one night. We dropped our stuff and headed back out the door and on the bus into town. We walked around the downtown area, past Scott Monument (a 200 foot Victorian Gothic monument erected in tribute to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott) and along the park and the National Gallery of Scotland (didn’t get a chance to go inside, but will next time). Carver stopped to video a man playing bagpipes on the corner and we then headed up to the Edinburgh Castle. The castle isn’t incredibly large and we walked around a bit of it before deciding we were hungry, but not quite ready for a full lunch. We popped into the café inside the castle and grabbed a snack. Something tells me that David I of Scotland (King of Scots from 1124-1153) didn’t have the luxury of stopping by this café for a sandwich and a cold beer. We split a sandwich and each had an Innis & Gunn, a Scottish beer. The café overlooked the edge of the castle and the city below. We read through our guide and decided we wanted to see the Crown Jewels and St. Margaret’s Chapel, built by David I around 1130, which is the oldest standing structure in Edinburgh. We also wanted to be sure we saw the cannon get fired at 13:00. The chapel was tiny – literally only about 50 square metres, but quaint and cool to see, complete with a recreated altar and beautiful stained glass windows. We then wandered through the Scottish National War Memorial and then headed over to the Scottish Crown Jewels. We were a bit pushing for time to see the daily cannon fire and we weren’t expecting a full-blown exhibit leading up to the Jewels that entailed room after room of history and stories that ultimately led to the Crown itself. We admittedly breezed through a couple of the rooms to get through in time, but did spend some time in the room with the jewels itself. The Crown was magnificent and we marveled at the glittering jewels, known as the Honours of the Kingdom – and saw the Stone of Destiny, Scotland’s ancient Coronation Stone.

We exited the exhibit just in time to line up with everyone else preparing for the cannon boom. Right at 13:00, the cannon fired with a loud boom and a puff of smoke and applause was rampant around the castle. Cheesy, touristy, but of course we had to see it and we applauded excitedly with everyone else.

Carver and I left the Castle and headed down the hill into town, wandering in and out of various shops filled with Scottish scarves, kilts, touristy items, tweed apparel, etc. By this time we were ready for a proper lunch and we popped into a pub on the corner. Mind you, there is a pub on every corner. This one was called TASS, The Edinburgh Pub. Looked good enough to us. We grabbed a table in the bar area and decided we were both going to be brave and try some scotch. When in Rome … er, Scotland … While perusing the menu, a guy came in, sat on a bar stool at the bar and announced he was going to read a poem. With a thick Sco’ish accent, he began reciting his work. We had no friggin clue what he was saying, not because of his accent, but because it made no sense. He finished, we applauded him and then went up to the bar to order. At this point we were standing next to the poet, who Carver started talking to (Carver talks to everyone). The guy began reviewing pieces of his poem and what they meant and then just randomly got up and left the bar. Okie dokie … that was odd. We placed an order for fish and chips and also for haggis, neeps and tatties (Kim, I finally had neeps)! We figured we had to try haggis while in Scotland so we agreed we’d share both dishes. We each ordered a beer and also told the bartender that we wanted to have some scotch, but had no idea what we wanted. Carver’s mom had given him some pointers to try a scotch that smells like the peat bogs. Um, every scotch smells like a peat bog to me. The bartender, however, had enough info to narrow down our choices, so Carver’s mom must have known what she was talking about. Knowing that we both hate scotch, we decided to each get a different one so that we could try 2 kinds. Scotch and beer chasers in tow, we went back to our table to see how we would stomach our drink. Confirmed, I still hate scotch. But, it does kinda grow on you. That burning, warm feeling you get when you take a drink is actually quite nice. And it goes right to your head so that’s quite nice, too. Thank God for the beer, though. One of the scotches (is “scotches” a word?) was smokier than the other and we didn’t care for it that much. But one was smoother and was ok. Of course, Carver finished that one off and left me with the smokier one. In addition to the burning sensation as I drank it, it tasted a bit like I was eating a mossy plank from a smokehouse. People like this stuff? By now our lunch had arrived. The fish and chips were good, that was an assumed given. What was surprising, though, was that the haggis was also good! They did not serve it in the stomach, though, so I think that helped. And the neeps and tatties was good food to stick to our ribs and soak up the scotch. We were determined to not let anything to go to waste and when I saw Carver finish his scotch, I knew I had to suck it up and finish mine.

By now, having each had 2 beers and a scotch, we had quite a buzz going. We wandered down the street and decided to do some shopping. We popped in and out of various shops, bought a few little things here and there, including me own Sco’ish cap. I was quite elated with myself! In one shop – Neanie Scott’s – we spent quite a bit of time and chatted up the shopkeeper, an elderly woman who was just delightful to chat with, telling us all kinds of stories about how her grandmother (Neanie Scott) started the shop and how she runs it. She asked where we ate lunch and I said the pub up on the corner and she replied – just as I alluded to earlier – “which one? There’s a pub on every corner!”

We then found ourselves in a tattoo parlor, where we met Cheryl, the tattoo artist from Austin, Texas. Random. She took to us instantly and we chatted with her for a while. Carver and I both discussed that we wanted tattoos, but just haven’t figured out what/where yet. Cheryl was convinced to get us to get tattoos right then and there. Carver and I asked if that was a good idea after a couple beers and a scotch, but she didn’t seem to mind. We actually contemplated each getting a tattoo but then we paused and decided maybe we should talk about it tomorrow morning when we weren’t tipsy. Thankfully, I do not have a Celtic symbol tattooed on my ass.

We said goodbye to Cheryl and meandered on down the street. We were on the Royal Mile, which is the main thoroughfare through town that runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top of Castle Rock down through town, ending at The Palace of Holyroodhouse. We walked to the end of the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, one of the oldest residences in Edinburgh and still used by the British Royal Family and the Parliament building. The Parliament building was quite controversial during its construction. The new, modern building was scheduled to be opened in 2001, but was not completed until 2004 at a cost of £414 million. It was only supposed to cost a maximum of £40 million, so you can imagine why the people weren’t happy. However, this area is an amazing contrast of modern architecture of the Parliament building, directly across the street from the Holyroodhouse, both set at the foot of Arthur’s Seat, a lush, volcanic hill rising above the town.

It was getting dark by now and we started walking in the direction of our B&B. We first stopped at The Regent, a gay pub … on a corner, of course … and had a Strongbow cider, which I ordered by mistake, but it was ok. We continued on our way and then stopped at Café Habana for another pint. This was more of a small video bar. We grabbed a table in the corner and our conversation actually turned serious as we talked about life in general. We finished our beer and decided it was time to head back to chill for a bit before heading out for dinner.

Back at the B&B, we relaxed a bit and changed clothes. We finally ventured out into town. It was past 22:00 and surprisingly, many restaurants stopped serving at 22:00. We finally stumbled upon Café Piccante, which was just a random café/fast food place that was open late, had a DJ and just a few tables. It was apparently quite the hot spot, though. I ordered a burger and Carver had some sort of meat combo thing. I’m not really sure what it was, but it was over top a bunch of fries and covered with a sauce. He devoured it, though.

The café was next door to The Street, where we were going to meet Neil, the guy Carver met the day before who showed him around. We headed over to the bar and within minutes Neil arrived. Neil works on the trains and is an incredibly nice guy and we became mates instantly. Now, for those of you who know me, I’m pretty social and will talk to almost anyone given the right setting and can make friends pretty easily. Carver, however, puts me to shame. Within 10 minutes of being in the bar, we knew not only Neil, but the bartender, Mike, another Neil and his friend and we also ran into Roger who we met earlier in the day, along with his boyfriend and their 2 friends. We grabbed a table with Neil, Neil and his friend and had a few rounds. Carver wandered off and a bit later I joined his group and met about 10 other guys, including Craig and his friends Jason and Paul and we all were friends within minutes. Everyone in Edinburgh was as friendly as can be! They were all genuinely nice guys. No attitude here like you find all too often in the states. We were there for a while and then Carver, Craig, Neil and a few others headed over to GHQ Club, a big dance club just next door. Soon after we got there, the place was packed and we were all dancing like fools and having a great time. Carver and Neil had been there the night prior, but it was apparently dead. They told me that the place had a hot tub in the back and the bar often opened it up to patrons. It wasn’t open that night, but Carver showed me the room where it was. To our surprise, it was in was full of mannequins. It was a bit bizarre and of course Carver plopped himself down on the floor with them so I could get a picture. It was totally random, though it was 30 October so maybe they were getting ready for Halloween the following night. Anyway, we had a great time and then the locals dragged us on to C.C. Bloom’s, which is apparently the dive bar/club that everyone cringes about going to, but everyone goes to. We hung out there until it closed, having a gay ‘ol time, and then called it a night as the lights went up and they kicked us out. I think we got back to the B&B around 3ish? Not entirely sure, but we both crashed. What an incredible, adventurous day!

Saturday, 31 October 2009 – Halloween
09:00: Carver was hating me, but I made him get up as I was not about to miss out on a homemade breakfast (especially since it was included in our rate)! We stumbled downstairs and I met Bill, the owner. We were joined by 2 other guys staying there and we all had a great breakfast made by Bill, complete with piping-hot-porridge (in honor of you, Kim), eggs, yogurt, sausage, toast, coffee, tea, juice and more!

It apparently is rarely sunny in Scotland. It was cloudy all day Friday, but held off raining until Friday night. But Saturday when we woke up, the sun was shining. The locals couldn’t believe it. It was going to be a gorgeous day!

11:00: We had to check out by 11. Jason (who we met the night before), knew we had to check out and still had the day to explore, so he offered to let us stop by his place and drop our backpacks so we didn’t have to schlep them around all day. Again, everyone is so incredibly nice! When we checked out, we headed into town and made our way to Jason’s flat, which was pretty cool. We hung out with Jason for a little bit and finally convinced him to go hiking with us. He was going to do a bit of work, but given how nice it was outside, it was easy to twist his arm.

Jason’s flat wasn’t too far from the Parliament House area and the foot of Arthur’s Seat. We walked over there and began the 251-metre trek up to the miniature, lush (and a tad muddy) Highland peak. It got pretty steep in areas and stupid me only had one pair of shoes with me, which weren’t exactly hiking shoes, but I managed, having only slipped once … ok maybe twice. As we climbed higher and higher, we rose above beautiful Edinburgh. At the top, it was incredibly windy, but the views were breathtaking! You could see all the way across the city in all directions and out to the sea. From this high point you can also see remains of 4 prehistoric forts. It was pretty mystical.

We admired the view for a while in all directions, then began the trek back down the hillside. That’s where it got even trickier, as we maneuvered our way back down the slippery rocks. By this time, we were famished. Carver and I were just going to find another pub on the corner, but Jason invited us back to his flat for lunch. He also called his friend Craig who we met the night before, and invited him over, too. Jason made what he called “toasties” which were really just open-faced ham and cheese sandwiches, but they were to die for and we all gobbled them up. Then we had seconds! Ah, we love Scottish hospitality! The 4 of us hung out a bit and then Carver and I finally had to say goodbye.

Hugs all around for our new friends and then we walked to the bus station. Carver and I were beat.

14:00: Carver and I jumped on the bus, thankfully getting the top level, front window seats again. It started drizzling, but the sun was also still shining and beating down on us through the large windows. We were exhausted, the sun was warm, the sound of the drizzling rain soothing and all those plus the vibrations of the bus put us both out cold quickly. We woke up just as we were arriving at the airport 20 minutes later.

Carver and I were on separate flights and mine was a bit before his. I somehow got upgraded to first class on mine – woohoo! – so couldn’t wait to sit back in my big leather chair and drift to sleep. Carver and I grabbed a bottle of water at the coffee stand, quite pleased with ourselves for our adventure. While we started out not knowing if we’d hate each other after spending 32 solid hours together, we were excited by just how well we did travel together. We had such an awesome time – what an amazing adventure! We decided we were good travel companions and we would have to find another excursion sometime soon. Carver and I said our goodbyes, as we were headed in different directions once our flights landed, and I boarded my flight.

16:00: Flight took off from Edinburgh back to London Heathrow. Goodbye beautiful city, goodbye wonderful adventure!

18:00: Flight landed in London and with just my trusty backpack, I headed to the Heathrow Express, then on to Paddington, then this time took the tube back to my flat. Was home a bit before 19:00.

I decided I’d take a nap. I had planned to go hit one of the clubs since it was Halloween, but my disco nap turned into a 3 hour nap. I did get up and take a shower, still planning to head out , as it was early for London club standards. But I was so exhausted from the Edinburgh trip that going to bed sounded better. So that’s what I did. I jumped back into bed and fell asleep recounting the incredible Scottish adventure I’d just had.

My friend Carver was in town this week and we were getting together tonight. He had free tickets to see “Sister Act” on stage and invited me to join him. I met him outside the London Palladium, we went inside for a glass of wine and headed into the theatre. The show started off very slowly and halfway through the 1st act I was wondering if I’d be falling asleep soon, but thankfully it picked up and by the end of the 1st act I was enjoying it and ready for more. What I was not ready for more of was the annoying woman and her son sitting next to me. The two of them kept talking, which was irritating enough. Then she kept pulling her mobile phone out and texting. That wouldn’t have been a big deal, except the light from her phone, in a dark theatre, was incredibly distracting. And she had two phones out. Not sure if she was texting herself or what, but it was annoying. I’d finally had enough, leaned over and said: “the light from your phone is distracting … and so is your talking”. She apologized, though scowled at me in the process. They didn’t return after intermission, so mission accomplished! The rest of the show was great and Carver and I enjoyed it and were in high spirits afterwards.

Now it was off to dinner with the co-owners of a company that Carver ultimately accepted a job with. Carver and I left the theatre and walked down Regent’s Street, London’s famous high-end shopping street. We drooled over Armani suits and Hugo Boss jackets in the windows as we passed by. But passing by is all we did. Down to Piccadilly and to The Wolseley restaurant (http://www.thewolseley.com). What I did not know at the time was that The Wolseley is quite the hoity-toity restaurant. We walked in and I was thankful I was wearing a jacket so I fit in at least a little bit. Upon entering the restaurant, we met David and Richard – co-owners of Incredibull. Richard is the operations man behind the business and David is the face. What I also didn’t know at the time was who David was. Dr. David Bull (http://davidbull.com/) is not only half-owner of the company, but is a TV personality, active in charities and considering a run for a Parliament position. I learned all this in the first few minutes and soon learned how we had a table in the “inner circle” of the restaurant, where everyone who is anyone sits so all the people in the “outer circle” can watch. I should mention, though, that David and Richard are also both incredibly nice guys. Within minutes the four of us were joking with each other and truly having an enjoyable – albeit fancy – dinner (not that I minded). A few minutes after we sat down, David motioned to my left and the woman sitting at the table next to ours. It was Honor Blackman, the actress who played Pussy Galore in the James Bond film, “Goldfinger”. Ah, so I was dining with celebrities. Well, ok, I was sitting at a table next to a table with a celebrity. Close enough.

The dinner was excellent and we all had a great time. Mind you, we didn’t sit down to eat until 10:30pm, so it was almost midnight by now and the trains were about to stop running. Carver was staying with Richard, so they took off one direction and David and I were headed in the same direction. On the train, David and I started talking about how things got their names. He explained to me that back in the days of the hangings (at Tyburn – today’s Marble Arch if you recall from an earlier blog post), people would line the streets to watch the hangings and would drink all day. The next day – when the hangings were over – they would be “hung over”. He went on to say that the prisoners were pulled in wagons to the gallows. The men pulling the wagons were not allowed to drink while working. They were “on the wagon”. When they weren’t working and could drink, they were “off the wagon”. Sound familiar?

Finally, he switched to ships and the word posh. He explained that when the rich would travel via ship, they wanted to ensure they had the best cabins with the best views. This ended up being Port side Out, Starboard side Home. Or … POSH.

Now that my evening had ended, I had made a couple new friends, seen a fun show with another friend and had quite the dining experience. Quite the posh night out.

After work on Tuesday, I raced to SoHo to meet Nathan (from our Fargo office) and David (Microsoftie here in the U.K.). I worked later than planned so was a bit late to dinner, but finally met them at Princi (www.princi.co.uk), a trendy little place that’s open late and has various light Italian fare, such as pastas, salads, pizzas and pastries. Very good and reasonably priced food. Afterwards, we hit Rupert Street for a couple beers and then called it a night.

I spent a couple hours at the Novotel checking out the event, said hello to everyone and then headed to Fitch to work. Busy afternoon of meetings.

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I’ve been training myself to use the British words for things whenever I can, such as the loo (an important one!) and lift (elevator) and various things like that. These are easy ones and one can look them up. However, some words you just have to learn as you go along … and hope someone corrects you before you say the wrong thing. Last week, I wore jeans to work at the beginning of the week (which is totally fine), but Neil was joking with me about how it didn’t take long for me to stop wearing proper trousers and went right to jeans. Well the next day, I did wear trousers. I got to work and said “Neal, look, I wore pants today just for you!” His response was: “Well, I should certainly hope so!” He then advised that “pants” actually means “underwear” here and that “trousers” is the correct word for what we call pants. Oops. Glad I didn’t make that mistake in public. Another word that the Brits get quite a kick out of that the Americans use is (forgive me, my British friends) “fanny”. To us, it is a joking term for your bum. To them, it is … well, it’s not suitable to print, but it’s slang for a female body part. I will never be able to hear someone refer to a “fanny pack” again without doubling over laughing.

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Been super busy the past few days and behind in updating but wanted to go ahead and post what I have. Taking Friday off and going to Edinburgh with a friend for a day and a half.

More later …

Today is absolutely gorgeous outside. Of course, I wore my long coat again when I really just needed my light jacket. I’ll never figure it out. The sun is shining and it’s supposed to be in the 60s today. A perfect day for exploring another park, but no can do. It’s off to work.

As I was getting ready for work, Luca texted me to check out page 26 of the Metro today. As I hopped on the tube, Metro copy in hand, I turned to page 26 to see a picture of Katherine Jenkins from her performance at Heaven on Saturday, looking quite lovely in her rubber dress! You can check her (and her rubber dress) out by accessing this link of the Metro online: http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/music/article.html?Katherine_Jenkins_dons_PVC_at_G-A-Y&in_article_id=757376&in_page_id=25

Yet another delight awaited me when I got to work. I came in the door just behind Rachel and she informed me that her contact came through and she was able to deliver. She reached into her bag and pulled out a jar of Jiff creamy peanut butter! Hallelujah! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. You can be sure I’ll be having some as soon as I get home, if I can wait that long! The funny thing about “Jif” though, is that that is the name of a cleaning product over here. So when you say you are eating “Jif” people think you are crazy. But that’s fine by me … it will help ensure others don’t touch my peanut butter!

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I had to make a stop at Saino’s on my way home to pick up some food. No crappy peanut butter needed this time! Sainsbury’s (or Saino’s), as I explained in an earlier blog, is a grocery store chain here in London. It’s a middle of the road store, comparable to Safeway or Acme in the States. Most of them are a more convenience store-type setup, though I’m told the one by me is larger. It’s a decent sized place (probably the size of the PCC in Columbia City near Rob/Rett’s house) and it has what I need. Luca, given that I’ve figured out the ins and outs of Sainsbury’s, jokingly refers to me as Lord Martin, Earl of Sainsbury’s. I’d be ok with “Lord Martin” for short, though!

After Saino’s I was home in 2 minutes and I couldn’t open the jar of Jiff peanut butter fast enough. I proceeded to scarf down 2 heaping spoonfuls of it and I was in complete heaven! Ah … I then thankfully went to the gym to burn that off. I got there too late and the DJ had finished spinning and left for the evening (it cracks me up that there is a DJ at my gym) but they were still playing house music over the sound system. When I got back home, I was famished and while I had a few options for dinner … the only real option to me was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After all, it is good protein, which is important after a workout.

Feeling quite elated by the success of Operation Peanut Butter, I did some work, chatted with Rob for a bit as he went through my bills so I knew what I had to pay online and then crawled into bed, certain I would be dreaming of all the wonderful things one can make with peanut butter.

Luca had invited me to join him and a friend of his for brunch on Saturday and I was glad I was able to join them. First, we were going to a market (and I was hoping it would be better than the Portobello Road Market from the day prior). This time, I was headed to East London and I took the tube to Liverpool Street Station where I’d be meeting Luca. I grabbed a coffee from Starbucks and waited outside, standing near a lovely woman who was also waiting for someone. As Luca exited the station, he came right up to both me and the woman. Ah, the woman next to me was Luca’s friend, Angela. How funny we were standing right next to each other and didn’t even know it!

After introductions, the 3 of us headed up the street. East London hasn’t always been the best part of town, but it’s been transforming over the years and while it remains edgy, it is built up and has many delightful treasures. We made our way several blocks to the Columbia Road Flower Market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Road_market). Luca had kept the “flower” part of the market a secret, so it was a nice surprise when I discovered I wouldn’t be shuffling my way through tons of tourists looking for the best price of a piece of junk. We first stopped in a fragrance shop and I was immersed in what I would envision to be a traditional British shop, complete with an elderly woman, a la Angela Lansbury, running it, dressed to the nines and proud of her fragrances, speaking proper English through and through. After taking in several scents we headed back outside back into the market.

The narrow street, lined with quaint, Victorian shops was bursting with stalls full with flowers galore – gerber daisies, roses large and small, orchids, lilies, gladiolas, house plants, lemon trees – bins and bins stuffed with blooming flowers of all colors and types. Our senses were again delighted by fragrant smells wafting into our noses! The street is fairly narrow, so there’s not a lot of space to walk and the crowd was a bit much. There were sections where shuffling through was about all one could do, but unlike the other market, this one delighted more with stand after stand of fresh flowers. People yelled prices from their stalls – “beau-iful orchids, 7 pounds … ” (yes, I deliberately left out the “t” in “beautiful” to try to get the effect of the woman’s accent). The general attitude of this market was much more relaxed and fun, too, with vendors adding humor to their sales pitch as one man shouted: “this plant is just like me – horny and mental … oh, that’s ornamental …” If I knew I wouldn’t have to carry the flowers around with me the rest of the day, I most certainly would have bought some to brighten up my flat.

Having satisfied our sense of smell, it was now time to obey our growling stomachs and move to our sense of taste. Luca picked the restaurant and once again lived up to his reputation as a culinary expert. We went to “Boundary” (http://www.theboundary.co.uk/) in Shoreditch and my oh my did the senses continue to be delighted. The main restaurant is in the basement of the building and it’s smartly decorated with brick walls, white linens, tiled floor, gorgeous modern artistically painted ceiling lights and a large glass wall allowing you to watch the chefs in the kitchen. I began with a glass of champagne, which seemed appropriate for this venue. As for food, Angela started with the charcuterie plate and they wheeled a trolley full of the cured meats tableside and prepared her plate. Luca and I settled on English snails as our starter. The 3 of us all had the rib of beef, accompanied by Yorkshire pudding, which was the ultimate selling point. For those of you who have never had it, Yorkshire pudding is a savory pastry that is part of a traditional Sunday roast here in England. I’ve had it a couple times (Jeremy made them when I had dinner at his and Craig’s place a couple months back) and this was also incredibly delicious. All accompanied by a lovely bottle of pinot noir and side dishes of parsnips (no neeps yet, Kim, but getting closer!), green beans and broccoli – all prepared to perfection. Ending the meal would not have been appropriate without dessert and we each had the Apple Crumb, complete with crème anglaise and I joined the 2 Europeans I was dining with and had an espresso. When in Rome … or, rather, London …

The food was wonderful and the overall experience did not disappoint. Getting to know Angela was good fun and she and I shared some parallel stories. Of course, spending time with Luca is always enjoyable. The 2 of them already have me sold for a holiday outing when I’m back here in December. I can’t wait to experience the activities of the holiday season!

Feeling exceptionally stuffed, I said goodbye to Luca and Angela, as I was now headed back to Central London to meet Heather, Tracy and the rest of their gang who had just arrived in town for Convergence EMEA.

This ended up being a bit trickier than expected. Let’s just say I need to buy Heather a map of London.  They took the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circus and were then going to walk to Trafalgar Square where I was going to meet them. I arrived in Trafalgar Square and was sitting on the fountain watching the people go by. One little boy and girl were walking along the edge of the fountain where I was sitting. They reached the point where I was and it was obvious they could not get around me unless I moved or they took a dive in the fountain, something I’m sure their mother would not have wanted, especially on such a chilly afternoon. I’m not sure if the boy did not speak English or if he was just shy, but he looked up at me with this goofy grin and a twinkle in his eyes that showed he was eager to pass but I was clearly in his way. I told him not to fall into the fountain and he just grinned more. I hopped off the fountain to let he and his sister pass and they scurried along.

After sitting back on the fountain for another 15 minutes, I was wondering where in the world Heather and crew were. I was facing the direction of where they should have been coming from, but had no sight of them at all. Heather’s phone kept going to voice mail, which told me they were likely still underground. When she finally called me, she said they were standing in front of a Palace. Um … that means they went the wrong way. Heather was trying to tell me where they were (by a large column – but then again, I was also by a large column in Trafalgar Square!). So that didn’t help me. Being by the Palace told me that they had ended up in St. James Park and gone west and were now in Green Park by Buckingham Palace – quite a distance from where I was. Heather couldn’t find the street signs (they are plaques high up on the corners of buildings here) and didn’t know what any of the landmarks near here were, so I went with the assumption that they did somehow walk to Buckingham Palace. I told her to stay put and I’d come meet them at the statue in front of the Palace. I then walked to Piccadilly Circus to hop on the line to Green Park, which would have put me closest to them. I’d then have to cut through the park to the Palace. I was a bit confused how they got so far off track, but this gang is a goofy bunch so it’s best not to ask those questions. I literally was on the first step down into the tube at Piccadilly when Heather called me again. She told me she didn’t think they were by Buckingham Palace afterall. After trying to walk her through a few things (I had my map but Heather was without one), I discovered they actually were not very far from Piccadilly, so they hadn’t wandered as far off as I thought. Thank heavens I didn’t get on the tube, as I was about to go way out of my way. I started walking away from Piccadilly and mentioned I just passed the Sofitel hotel, which Heather had referenced earlier that they were near. I was coming upon an ice cream truck (which could not have been getting much business, as it was getting chilly and windy!) and Heather said they were on the other side of that. Minutes later … a reunion, hugs hello, all that good stuff. It turns out that they were by the Horse Guards Parade Ground – which is NOT a palace for your reference. Too funny!

Now, we were headed BACK to Trafalgar Square, as apparently Craig and Marie were ahead of the group and found their way to Trafalgar Square. They were up by the National Gallery, so I didn’t see them when I was in the Square. So I led the lost souls from Fargo back the other direction to Trafalgar Square so we could begin the search for the others.

I didn’t know this until later, but it was rather appropriate that we were in Trafalgar Square yesterday. Sunday night when I logged on to get some work done, I noticed the bing homepage (www.bing.com for those of you who aren’t yet – but should be – using Microsoft’s new decision engine) was of an old war ship, commemorating Trafalgar Day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafalgar_Day), which celebrates the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Horatio Nelson (hence Nelson’s column in the Square) over the joined French and Spanish fleets in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Not entirely sure why last Wednesday wasn’t Trafalgar Day (the 21st) but I didn’t pick the celebratory date.

We found Craig and Marie and all decided it was time to find some food. We made our way up St. Martin’s Lane and stopped at a pub on the corner. We overtook a corner of the place and all had a pint and some snacks. Typical British food – the onion rings and chips (fries) were incredibly bland – even the cheese-covered ones. I’ll have to comment more on my English food experiences later (not meaning the incredible establishments picked by Luca!). After feeling rested up after the craziness of the group being lost and ready for a proper meal, I led them further up St. Martin’s Lane (past the hotel of the same name that I usually stay at when coming here) and to Cambridge Circus, pretty much where Soho and Covent Garden meet. There were a multitude of choices here and the weary travelers were ready to just get some dinner so they could get back to their hotel to sleep, so we went with Med Kitchen. It’s a chain here, but is a pretty good Mediterranean restaurant that has a variety of food to appeal to all. We had a good time at dinner and then, once again full of food, I pointed them to Leicester Square to catch their tube back to Hammersmith where their hotel is and I headed up Shaftsbury toward my flat. Mind you, I didn’t wear a jacket today, so I was quite cold by this time of evening, as it had turned chilly and windy. I picked up the pace and was soon in the comfort of home.

I did a few things around the flat – took the rubbish down to the bin storage (see, I’m learning!) and changed the laundry around which is something I do daily now. I’ve also learned that it’s rare to fully dry your clothes in the dryer. Most people have drying racks. So I tend to run things through the dryer and then just take them out and air dry them the rest of the way. This morning, I took out a load of towels, which are now spread all over my bed air drying. The tiny dryer leaves everything so dang wrinkled, too, so I’m beginning to wonder what the point of it is. One thing I miss is a normal sized washer and dryer.

I settled in at home and watched the elimination round of X Factor. Miss Frank was eliminated last night (trio of girls). I was glad to see the viewers voted them off and kept the cute guy.

Off to bed early, as I was now feeling the effects of only having 5 hours of sleep the night before!

Dim sum was the menu for lunch, so it was back to Chinatown, this time meeting at Golden Dragon. There I met Andrew’s friend, Miguel, and Miguel’s girlfriend, Claire. They are both great people and we had a fun lunch. After lunch, I did a bit of a sales pitch for Miguel to join PCMA and then Andrew and I were off to Portobello Road.

We took the Central Line to Notting Hill Gate (yes, THE Notting Hill for you Hugh Grant fans out there). Upon exiting we headed to the Portobello Road Market. It’s an incredibly large street market with wares ranging from antiques to clothing to fruits and vegetables to stands selling fresh baked goods and other delicious types of food. One stand had giant bowls of paella that looked amazing! Andrew and I stopped at a pastry stand and I got a chocolate brownie that melted in my mouth! Portobello Road is a very quaint road with brightly-colored houses lining the street. One of George Orwell’s residences is here. In addition to the food and antique stands, there is also a lot of junk. I’m amazed at what some people will buy! The market was extremely packed with people and parts of it only allowed us to shuffle from stand to stand. We did stop at a clothing stand, as I was determined to get myself a proper London hat. The type I wanted was too poofy and didn’t look right on me, so I settled on a simple black cap. I do like it, but part of me wonders if, while I’m wearing it, I should be out sweeping chimneys! Chim-chim-eny, chim-chim-eny … chim-chim-cher-ee …

Andrew and I walked up and down the crowded street and it was apparent we were both starting to wear of all the people. We were pretty much marketed out. Portobello Road Market is something that I’m glad I saw, as I’ve heard a lot about it. But it’s not something I think I’d go back to, as it just wasn’t as charming as I expected.

Back on the tube, Andrew decided he was beat and was going to head back to his hotel to rest up before our big night out later that night. I made my way to Oxford Street, after hearing Andrew talk about Top Shop – a trendy clothing store in London (and I believe there’s finally one in NYC). These days, there aren’t many stores you can find in cities that don’t exist everywhere, so it was great to have a place that is, mostly, not in the U.S. Top Shop is a bit similar to H&M, though a bit higher end. Most things were still reasonably-priced, though. I bought a few things and continued down Oxford Street, one of London’s famous shopping streets, popping into various stores. All in all, I picked up a few items that will hopefully allow me to pass for dressing like a European, so I was happy and headed home.

By now it was around 7pm. I made dinner at home, started yet another load of laundry, updated my blog and settled in to watch “The X Factor”. This is Britain’s version of American Idol and is a huge sensation over here. Simon Cowell is also the host of this show and he’s an icon over here – everyone loves him! I figured I had to watch the show as it’s hyped as much as American Idol is in the States, if not more. I was only half-watching it, but it was entertaining and a bit different from the American version.

Immediately following was a biographical talk show, hosted by Piers Morgan. His guest was Katherine Jenkins, a young, popular, British opera singer. She’s absolutely gorgeous and seems to be a sweet girl (she’s not even 30 yet), but I didn’t pay too much attention to the show.

It was now time to start shutting down my computer and get ready to go out. As I mentioned before, the big dance clubs don’t open until around midnight. Tonight, I was meeting Andrew and Anthony at the G.A.Y. night at Heaven. Heaven is THE place to go out clubbing in London – the place that all night gay clubs around the world want to be like. I went about 10 years ago when in London with my old company, but it was in another location. This would be an experience for all of us.

Heaven is located near Charing Cross Station, which is about a 20 minute or so walk from my flat. I did the typical gay thing and decided it was warm enough to not bother with a jacket. That way I wouldn’t have to check it or hang on to it. I made my way through the West End and met up with Andrew and Anthony around 1am. As we were standing in the queue to get in, we noticed signs on the wall indicating there was a performance tonight by … Katherine Jenkins. Andrew and Anthony had also watched the X Factor and the biography show following so they’d see her on T.V. that evening. How crazy that this woman who I’d just seen on T.V. was now going to be performing at Heaven! And an opera singer – we were intrigued! After a hefty £12 entrance fee (about $20), we were inside the wonderland of Heaven. We stood in the long coat check line (and had a drink while waiting) since Andrew and Anthony did NOT do the typical gay thing and go without outerwear. I think they were ultimately smarter, though! The club was already packed and thumping. The energy quickly seeped into our bodies, too. We were on the dance floor in no time, ecstatic as can be! At around 1:45am, the stage was cleared of those who had made it their dance floor and Katherine Jenkins came out on stage. She is absolutely gorgeous, had long, flowing blonde hair, hanging over one shoulder and one bare shoulder and arm were covered in glitter. She was also wearing a skin-tight, black rubber dress. She looked fabulous! She began with a dance version of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” yet adding her own mezzo-soprano touches to it. It was awesome! She sang a few songs, including Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. She was gracious with the audience, saying she’d always wanted to perform at this club and even added: “and it was a good excuse to wear a rubber dress”! I love it! After a plead for an encore, she ended with a heart-felt rendition of Antonio Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” which actually had me in tears. I have to say thanks to Andrew and Anthony, because the hugs were right there when I needed them. Time for a shot …

… and several shots, beers and vodka-redbulls later we were dancing our hearts out till the wee hours of the morning. We had such an awesome time at Heaven; I didn’t want it to end! But the crowd started weaning around 4:30am so we figured it was time to head out and say goodbye. Andrew is off to another part of England on Sunday, so not sure when I’ll see him again. I’ll have to make a trip to Toronto. Anthony lives in London, so I may get together with him sometime next week. It was truly a great night at a great club with great new friends and I walked back to my flat feeling quite elated.

After dinner we headed to the heart of Soho and stopped at The Village for a drink. If you recall from my last blog posting, that was the infamous bar that left me tragically hungover from the night before. But I had since recovered and was happy to be back. The lovely drag queen was there again, though this time not spinning. Tonight she was just a patron, donned in a lovely wig of long, bright pink hair, a 70s-style short dress and amazing platform boots. We ordered a round and found a seat in the lounge part in the back. Before too long one of the shot boys came by and we couldn’t resist. It wasn’t that we couldn’t resist the shots. We couldn’t resist his abs. Oh to be in my mid 20s and have nothing to do but go to the gym. Sigh … He was, of course, shirtless. But we didn’t mind one bit and quickly ordered 2 tequila and 1 Sambuca shot and proceeded to down them, but only after snapping a few pictures of the young hottie. I’m sure you’ll see those photos on Andrew’s FaceBook in no time. Yes, this description of the shot boy does make it sound like we viewed him as nothing more than a piece of meat. And well … yes, that’s pretty accurate. I mean, come on. That’s what he was there for! To look pretty and sell shots. We were just supporting the efforts of the establishment.

We befriended an older Italian man and his partner sitting next to us. The Italian explained he had just been in the U.K. for 3 days, but was moving here in January. He said he took a 3-month intensive English course and then had just been practicing for real in the 3 days he’d been here. No way. His English was far too good. Neither Anthony nor I believed him. Andrew, however, as the good and trusting soul that he is, believed him. Anthony, ever the cynical Brit, challenged him. The Italian at first insisted he really had only the 3 months of training, then 3 days actively practicing. But then he kept using words that just wouldn’t be normal for someone who just learned the language. It was finally revealed that he left out the details of how he studied English for 18 years when he was younger. Bingo! We knew he was lying! It was an amusing interaction – all in good fun – and we finished our beers and decided to move on.

Since we had Chinese food for dinner, I was already hungry again! What is it with Chinese food that you are hungry just a couple hours after you’ve eaten? I made the guys stop so I could guiltily have a piece of pepperoni pizza. I was now satiated.
It was still a bit early for any of the clubs to get going, so we next went to The Yard and went upstairs and had another beer. This is a spacious neighborhood bar with quite a diverse crowd, which was great. We met an older Mexican couple who were celebrating their one-year anniversary. We toasted them and then headed on to the next destination. By now, it was a bit later, so it was acceptable enough to hit one of the clubs. In London, most of the bars close around midnight or so and then you move on to clubs for dancing … and then after parties if you feel like going all night. We weren’t quite at the all night point yet (nor did we at all that night) but we headed to Lo Profile, a club on Wardour. It is the largest club in Soho, though the key to that is “Soho”. It’s NOT the largest club in London. It was good sized, though, and fun décor. It wasn’t very full when we got there, but we started our own party and were pioneers on the dance floor. After a few rounds and lots of dancing the club began filling up quite a bit.

Once we were all danced out, we headed out and talked about hitting Heaven – the big and famous dance club in London. After yet another stop for some food (this time Andrew and I shared a hot dog, or at least it was called a hot dog, but not sure what the meat was), we were all pretty worn out and ultimately decided we were going to call it a night. We said goodbye and headed our separate ways. Andrew and I were going to explore a market tomorrow so we agreed we’d just touch base when we woke up, but weren’t going to play anything definitive.

On Thursday, I had plans to see my friend Craig in the evening. Normally, his boyfriend Jeremy (former Microsoftie who went to the dark side to work for that fruit company) would join us, but he had a work function to attend. I met Jeremy through a colleague at Microsoft who put us in touch. The first time I met up with Jeremy and Craig back in July, we went to BBR in Soho for brunch. It’s a great retro restaurant with a button at the table you can push if you’d like champagne brought to you. While we didn’t try this out, I was tempted. Anyway, we then spent the rest of that Sunday hopping from bar to bar around Soho, resulting in quite the drunken evening. Good fun, though they know how to put the pints back … so do I, apparently.

Well, fast forward to present day and another evening out with them. Jeremy had an awards banquet for work so unfortunately wasn’t able to join us, but Craig and I met at Ku bar, a trendy gay bar with incredibly muscly bartenders in Soho. We had a drink and then headed to dinner. Apparently, Thursday has become quite the popular night out and we had trouble finding a place that wasn’t going to have a long wait. We finally came upon a Mediterranean restaurant that looked good and had no wait. We settled in, shared a bottle of wine and a good meal and then headed out for a couple drinks. Mind you, we both discussed needing to not have a long night, as we both had early morning meetings. Well … then we went to The Village. Dancers on the bar, great music being DJ’d by a fabulous drag queen, pint after pint of beer … we were having lots of fun dancing and hanging out. We befriended a woman named Karen who thought we were just wonderful. What is it with middle-aged straight women who go into a gay bar, get drunk, meet a few gays and discover we are the most fabulous people on earth?! Not that I disagree with them! Karen was a trip and we had a good time chatting and dancing with her. Some things are the same no matter what side of the pond you are on.

Craig realized he missed his last train home, which meant a cab for him. He hung out a bit longer and then made his way home. I stayed for a little while longer, as I was chatting with a guy who randomly was from Cincinnati (I’m from Columbus) and we shared some Ohio stories and then I made my way home.

Friday, 23 October 2009
Friday morning … ouch. I woke up and discovered the effects of letting loose after working long hours. Or, rather, the effects of several pints of beer. As I said … ouch. I wore a green shirt to work, which was pretty appropriate, as when I got to work Neil indicated that my face was of the same shade. I felt miserable, but plugged my way through the morning. We’d got a lot of things accomplished that week, worked long hours and hit numerous deadlines needed, so Friday afternoon was truly not very busy for me. Thank god! I was admittedly having trouble functioning and I think there might be a picture or 2 of me falling asleep at my computer. (Note to Vivian and Kati: I swear I AM working hard while I’m here!)! I went home early afternoon, grabbed some greasy McDonald’s and took a nap. I had plans to see another friend that night, starting with seeing a play, so I had to feel better or I was going to be useless.

I felt WAY better after my nap, logged on to catch up on some emails and then got ready to meet my friend Andrew. Andrew lives in Toronto and is in the industry and we met through our mutual friend, Chris, while I was in Toronto in August for the PCMA International Summit. Andrew played perfect host to the boys while we were in Toronto, taking us out dancing and showing off the nightlife of his beautiful city.

Quite a bit of Andrew’s family lives around England and Andrew is here visiting his family and friends and enjoying the city. I was excited when I learned a few weeks ago that Andrew would be here during my stay. A friend of Andrew’s – Anthony – will be joining us tonight, so I’m looking forward to meeting him, too (he’s also in the industry and is president of the UK MPI chapter). We’re seeing the stage production of “Shawshank Redemption” and then hitting the town.