Cheerio!

July 2-July 9, 2007

London is beautiful, if not rather wet and rainy and entirely unpredictable. I've been here just over a week, now, and it feels like home. I'll stop suddenly on the street and realize that I've been walking down the streets of London, taking the Tube and sipping tea in cafes, and it's completely normal--more normal than walking through Meredith, at times.

I dyed my hair! It is now a lovely nutmeg brown, and it was very spur-of-the-moment. I saw Maureen's hair dyed and decided that I should do it too. It gave me a very European feeling, and I caused everyone to stop in surprise when they saw me. Excellent!

It's been quite a busy time here! I recited the opening prologue of the Canterbury Tales over Chaucer's grave in Westminster Abbey, which was absolutely beautiful. The graves are so elaborate, and everyone from Lord Byron to Handel to Elizabeth I are buried beneath its floors and crying angels. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the first of its kind, is surrounded by poppies--it's the only grave no one can step on, according to a tour guide, though that statement's a bit erroneous. Good job, tour guide.

The Tower of London was amazing, as always--a beef eater gave us a tour, and he described in detail the blood and guts of the Tower's history. Did you know that beef eaters and their families actually live IN the Tower? They have their own quarters and doctors and barbers and everything! Poor teenaged children, though--you have a permanent curfew of 9:30 pm. I also saw the Cabinet War Rooms and St. James' Park (with the largest pelicans EVER!) and Buckingham Palace today, which were all amazing. We got a tour of Parliament this morning, and I would like to be a member of the House of Lords just so I could sit on those sofas. Dang, they look comfy!

My sister and mother came to visit me, can you believe it? They're staying for ten days, and we spent the weekend touring the Cotswolds, picturesque villages clustered to the northwest of London. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Cheltenham (pronounced "Chilt'n'm"), and our room was the Egyptian Room--maybe the guy knew it was ME coming to visit! We saw the Rococo Gardens at Painswick, a beautiful Georgian Gothic church in Tetbury, had our rental car side-swiped in Cirencester (no damage, thankfully), had tea in Bourton-on-the-Water, and fed the ducks in the Slaughters (the most beautiful villages of the lot). The next day we saw the stone circle at Avebury, and the gnats mistook Mom for a sheep because of her blonde hair and white shirt--they were all over her! We had to dodge sheep poop in an effort to get her away.

By the way, our manner of transportation that weekend--rental car. Driver--sister. The UK needs to give out driving lessons before letting anyone take to the roads! Everything is backwards, it often looks like dogs are driving the cars because they're sitting in the front left seats (passenger seats, here), and the round-abouts are about the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Four different people told us four different methods of using them, so clearly we're not the only ones confused. Several near misses and the most expensive gas in the WORLD and we survived, but it felt like we barely made it sometimes.

Remember--if you need to get around the UK, hire a professional. You'll live longer.