Monday the 22nd
A beer and a bite after work with Marry, not making it too
late, cause awesome stuff is one the rise and an easy start of an-awesome-to-be
week is a very smart thing to do.
Tuesday the 23rd
One of the last things I had expected to do here was to
visit lectures of my political party. And yet I found myself, flanked by Marry,
at the second floor of a pub watching Boris vd Ham deliver an entertaining
speech about politics and people and history and what not. Some drinks during
and after this lecture and an early ride home, as the week had only just
started with plenty to look forward to.
Wednesday the 24th
With the five Dutchies (Martijn Jochem Marry David and I)
watching Ajax beat Man City in a bar where every CL match is broadcasted on a
separate floor was a splendid way to spend an evening. David and Marry couldn’t
care less about the match but chatted away happily while the three of us
discussed and watched the game, drinking our beer, and feeling satisfied as men
do when they watch sports. One more drink after the game to make sure we’d all
sleep fine, and tjop tjop onto the rental bike into the night that gets colder
and colder now that autumn has really arrived.
Thursday the 25th
Waking up after a shorter night than what I am used to, with
the world outside my warm and cosy apartment being cold and still dark, I had
the greatest difficulty getting up let alone pack my running gear with the
prospects of leaving a comfortable office for the sake of another exhaustive
run. I thought of at least three good excuses not to go, didn’t pack my stuff,
and left for the office, only to regret it a few hours into the morning as I
was naturally yearning for some fresh air by noon. By half past five I called
it a day and made my way to the Australian embassy with David for a drink
organised by Vasiliki and her colleagues, a once-every-two-weeks event whereby
the employees of the embassy gather in the basement and drink subsidised beer.
Splendid! Met some nice people, took Gabri along who finally got to meet
Vasiliki, two great friends being united, and around 9-ish we continued the
splendour in a shacky but cosy Brazilian pub that served tasty but expensive
carpehrinas, picking up Bo on the way as she had just arrived at the train
station. Awesomeness continued until well after midnight yet the next day I
couldn’t feel better and…
Friday the 26th
… had a very productive morning at work! Should do that more
often I reckon. Lunch at borough market with Bo, drinks with Marry, Jochem and
his gf, Bo and me after work, and Vietnamese food for dinner later on that
night. It may be a coincidental happenstance or rather I am getting aware of it
but I find myself more and more often these days in places that the Harry Potter
movies were shot at. Which means I find myself in places that look awesome. For
instance, Hogwarts’ great hall is the main hall in the Australian Embassy, and
the street where all the shopping is done in the film (I forget the name) was
the location of our joint beer drinking Friday eve. London keeps surprising me!
Saturday the 27th
This may very well have been one of the best days of London
time so far. Sleeping in, relaxed wake-up, a long stroll along the river,
teaming up with David and Merel (the gf) for wines and cheeses in the wine bar
I have already mentioned numerous times, where we were very fortunate to find a
table after a mere five minutes lingering around. You see, as the place is
tremendously popular, due to among others its affordability and its uniqueness
and its history and its general awesomeness, even on weekdays the tables are
all occupied from four pm on. You will find the entire interior flocked with
people, anxiously scanning the crowds dining and shining with delight at the
tables inside, waiting for a chair to get available. The density of the queue in
front of the wine bar beats the crowds at a random coronation ceremony of one
of England’s past royalties, and the poor girl chopping up cheeses sees her
queue disappearing through the door into the open. So yeah, pretty fortunate to
secure a table upon entrance, and we fully enjoyed the variety of cheeses and
two bottles of fine red wine. After two hours in ‘the cave’ we could do with
some fresh air though and the stroll in the direction of the theatre at which
we were planning to watch a play was a welcome one. So welcome indeed as until
David told me that there wasn’t that much time left and that the theatre was
well away and that we weren’t walking even in the right direction I figured it
the opportune moment not to risk a third theatre visit in a few weeks time and
we decided to grab a cab. After some detours an Indian rickshaw driver would be
proud of the guy in the cab dropped us off nearby the destined theatre and off
we went, tjop tjop, four ciders, here’s your ticket to the show, and into a
tiny theatre in the basement of a snug pub where we watched a most enjoyable
show in which the number of actors outnumbered the number of spectators. One of
the best things I have seen thus far, honestly really. Butter chicken as a
midnight snack, watching a movie in bed, and oh such a shame the bliss and
splendour of a best Saturday slumbers into a deep sleep that trades awareness
of its grandeur for the unconscious satisfaction of a night of dreams.
Sunday the 28th
Waking up and realising our last day for another four weeks
to come had commenced Bo and I decided to make the most of the time granted by
an extra hour overnight and set foot to the tower of London. Trapped in flocks
of tourists we cattle-like shuffled along the crown jewels, took a stroll
around the main buildings, aaand that was enough of our one hour visit to
take-at-least-four-hours-to-fully-appreciate-all-it-has-to-offer tourist
magnet. Decent coffee in Soho made up for a poor lunch and that was the end of
our time, Bo on the train, Teun back home, and off for some decent running to
combat the vast amounts of food and alcohol that vanish daily into my mouth.
Chilling at home and looking forward to a long night’s sleep in order to
commence another week of bliss coming up, already number seven in my stay here
that passes by much too fast.
Thanks for reading and until the next story!
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