London - 19 Mar 06

It was a long and bittersweet journey to the airport this morning. I am so thankful for the journey/adventure that Kate and I had, but found the goodbye tougher than I expected. I didn’t expect it to be that difficult because I will see her in four weeks and two days. I will never forget this week, but I sometimes grow accustomed to not being around Kate for long periods of time. When we are brought together after such a long time apart I feel so refreshed, as if I wasn’t living in a way before our reunion. Love is one complex feeling. It does invite the possibility of great pain into one’s life. A part of this pain, comparitively an easy part to deal with, is ushered in by having to say goodbye to loved ones. I see her last wave to me and I have to build up my courage in order to make that last turn when she vanishes from my sight. I bat the tears away and try to be stoic and manly as I walk through Heathrow. At times during my journey home I picture her waiting at her gate. Throughout the afternoon I imagine her on the plane flying back to Denver, back to so much I love and know. I grow envious of the ones that get to see her next, because our visit was so short.

It makes me sad to know that in less than a month I will be leaving behind a new love, London, without knowing when we will be reunited. Leaving here will sort of be like leaving a great friend never knowing if and when you will ever see each other again. Maybe I will never return, maybe it will be 30, 20, or 5 years from now. It is a hole in me not to know for sure, but that is because I love this place.

Kate and I did so much this week. We took a lot of pictures which I know I will be thankful for if I don’t remember everything we did on every day.

Sunday: We got settled in Muswell Hill and rested for a bit. The first sightseeing was a trip to St. Paul’s for an organ recital. At this point in the day Kate was very tired and afterwards we got food at Marks and Spencer and brought it home.

We were a bit slow on Monday morning to get out of the house. We headed to the National Gallery and Kate got to see Trafalgar Square as well. We went to lunch at Wagamama and it was so good! I am glad I waited to go there with Kate. At Trafalgar I gave Kate the postcard that surprised her with the trip to Paris. She cried, as I knew she would, and we embraced with big smiles on our faces right in front of the National Gallery. We went down to Oxford Street. Kate saw the shopping madness. We had dinner at Spaghetti House which was alright, but not worth a return trip.

Tuesday: We went straight for the TKTS booth in Leicester Square to get Les Miserables tickets. A quick trip to AIFS to drop off a paper and back to Muswell Hill. We had some proper fish and chips at Toff’s on the hill. Kate was pleased with that dining experience. It might have been her favorite. We then headed back into central London to the Tower of London and awesome views of Tower Bridge and City Hall. Then to Leicester Square and a regrettable meal at Garfunkel’s, the UK’s Denny’s. Then it was Les Miserables and a great end to the day. The songs were catchy and good. The Queen’s Theatre was roomy and the eleventh row impressed me with grand legroom in this Hobbit controlled environment.

To get to Heathrow by Tube you have to take the Piccadilly line. From Finsbury Park to Heathrow there are 27 stops. That makes for a good hour on the train. It is eight stops short of riding the entire length of a London Underground line. Much of the Piccadilly line west of central London is above ground too.

Anyway, that morning a busker (street performer) hopped on the train with a guitar.

He freaked some people out. All the Londoners were saying, “Ah, great. Another nutter.”

“Hey folks. Sorry I am late for the show,” He said.

He started playing his guitar and was actually not that bad. He played a few Beatles tunes and tried unsuccessfully to get the carriage to sing along. After a few stops he said, “I will spare you the pain of listening to me upon receiving any donation.”

A lady from one end of the carriage walked to the center where he was standing and handed over a couple of pounds.

He stepped off at the next stop and got on the next carriage up from us to do the same thing all the way up the train.

I couldn’t sit with Kate at her gate until she boarded. I had to say goodbye after she checked in and before she went through security. Those first few steps we take that separate us are always the hardest, no matter how long the separation. All we can see in our immediate futures is the absence of each other. That is all I ever see when we have to say goodbye like this. For a time I feel so empty and devoid of something that completes me that I only care about seeing her again. I literally care about nothing else for a moment.

Wagamama is one of the best places to eat in London. I regret to say that it has not come to the US. Wagamama’s curry is worth crying over when you realize you are 5,000 miles away from it. I have some friends going abroad in the next year though. Chris, Erik, please if you are in Auckland, go to Wagamama. And to the Mick and Rachel, I think you are going, there is a Wagamama in Dublin and Cork. This just in, there is one Wagamama coming soon to Boston. This is good. They have to start somewhere.

The TKTS booth sells half price tickets to almost all of the big shows in the West End. There are a lot of rip-off booths, but none come close to being as good as TKTS. The sales are for same day shows. Many of the best seats in the house are reserved for last minute buyers; this explains the eleventh row seats for Les Miserables.