It doesn’t matter what day it is, right?  I think these get date stamped anyway.

So, yesterday after work I met up with a friend of a friend of the McKennas.  When you’re an expat, your network extends to the very edge of where you would deem acceptable.  Her name was Kerry, an older woman originally from Australia I believe, and I had never met her before.  She had reached out earlier in the week to see if I wanted to grab a drink so… could I say no?  No.  We met at the Reunion Bar at the Grosvenor, a real schwanky joint with velvet chairs.  Naturally, she ordered champagne for the both of us while we chatted about our backgrounds.  She told me all about the places I should see, what her favorite museums are, and where to get my eyebrows threaded… maybe I should take that as a hint.  After champagne I ordered a glass of French Pinot Noir.  It was probably the best glass of wine I’ve had in a while.. almost tasted like rich cheesecake paired with a deep fruity base.  #delish.  I could’ve drank the entire bottle but since I am a lightweight, (And don’t have a spare 100 pounds in my pocket), I stuck with one glass.  Although I only had two drinks, I felt a little floaty on my commute back to the flat.  I know, I know.  Don't judge.

Today I was supposed to meet up with an old friend from Bentley but unfortunately the plans fell through last minute.  I was a little bummed but carried on with my morning routine – BodyRock TV Bootcamp YouTubes in my "cozy" flat living room, using a couch cushion as my “sandbag” and full water bottles/resistance bands as my weights.  Hey, you’ve got to make it work, right?  At least until I get a gym membership, this will certainly do the job.

I got myself moving along and since I was already planning on touring the city, I signed up for a free walking tour.  I found my way into Covent Market where the tour started and realized that this was shopping utopia.  I will absolutely be going back there.  I was a bit early to the tour so I stood in the square and watched a street performer – he was a mix between a comedian and a magician.  He did a few simple card tricks, made people laugh, and then swallowed a meter-long blown up balloon.  No I did not stutter, it was slightly disturbing to watch.

The tour started and our guide’s name was Chris.  Chris was actually an Australian who was so obsessed with history that he picked up his things 3 years ago and moved to London.  He learned that he could get a job walking around London telling people about its history so he felt he’d hit the jackpot.  Well let me tell you, his tour group also hit the jackpot… Chris was fantastic.  He knew anything and everything there was to know about London, the buildings, the royal family, food, drinks, real estate, you name it.  Although, for those of you that know me well enough, he probably could have been making up half of it and I believed him.  Let’s just go with the fact that he was a full on history genius and I learned a ton about London today.

We. Saw. Everything.  The tour lasted 3 hours, starting at Covent Garden as I mentioned, and ending at Big Ben.  The first stop was at ‘The Lady’ which is London’s oldest magazine that was originally made for women.  Well, since they didn’t do much to keep with the times, their average reader got to an average age of 70.  They brought in some new management and took the average down to 50… still not ideal but they are working on it.  What they are most famously known for now are their editorials that are written by a dog and cat.  Apparently they get more fan mail than Justin Bieber.  Across the street, amazingly enough, was a TGI Fridays.  As excited as you thought I might be to see an American landmark, I was more intrigued by the blue circle on the side of that building, just a floor above the restaurant.  I learned that when you see blue circles on buildings here in London, that means someone famous, at some point in time, lived there.  Well, Charles Dickens lived above TGI Fridays way back in the day, although I doubt it was TGI Fridays then.  We saw the guards, Trafalgar Square (currently with a big blue cock on display – reference attached pictures), the official gates of the Buckingham Palace which are not really near it but seemed more legit to the Queen so she dubbed them that, statues, famous parks, gardens, state house, Parliament, Big Ben (which is technically Queen Elizabeth II Tower and has Big Ben, the bell, IN it), the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey.  It was a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold, with just a slight bit of that famous fog.  I’d say it was quite perfect.

Throughout the tour I made friends with some other Americans, a Canadian, and of course our Australian tour guide Chris.  We all headed over to a pub after the tour, had some lunch and beers/ciders, and chatted about nothing important.  I made the mistake of asking Chris (an Australian), if he was a fan of the All Blacks Rugby Team.  Sorry Spence, I know you are shaking your head right now.  That’s like asking a Boston resident if they are a Yankees fan.  Woops.  After he threw his beer at me and flipped the table, we got over it.     ..Just kidding.