I write this post in the best of moods; this weekend was lovely, the week appears to be turning out similarly, and I fly to Paris on Friday. No class tomorrow, so I am writing a few postcards and a birthday card for Sadie, drinking soup, and watching my most recent TV obsession, the new British period drama with Maggie Smith and many other beautiful people, Downton Abbey. It's great; I dearly hope I can get it in the States when I come back.
Tara's visit this weekend went really well (yes, James, I am writing about her in my blog); it was really refreshing to see someone from home. Among other things, we got Mexican food since we were both craving it. It actually turned out to be pretty good, though the guacamole was a little off. Ah well. Turns out Tara is an Agatha Christi fan, so we went to see The Mousetrap, which is something like the longest running play in the West End. It was a lot of fun.
We also visited Hampton Court, Henry VIII's favorite crib. I'd heard it was cool, but it turned out way better than I expected. In William III's (of William and Mary) suite, we got some really interesting info from an overly —ahem— friendly dossen. I think I will definitely take my family there when they come to visit.
Tonight Carolyn and I went to see a play, but not a West End thing. It was a tiny independent production in SoHo about a little orphan in Russia in the 1990s who befriends a pack of dogs. At first I was skeptical but I ended up bawling my eyes out. The independent theater scene in London is really neat; I can't think of an equivalent in Tulsa. Plus, they offer one of the shows in the series free, so it didn't cost anything.
I am just feeling really settled these days. I finally figured out the cheap bus and travel passes for Oyster, which is saving money, I discovered the wonderful things that are digestive cookies (that sounds terrible, it's an archaic name, they're just sugary cookies), and I made a couple of new friends this week (one of them a real Brit!). I am even getting into a running routine, and I have a lovely route through the neighborhood.
Really, I don't have much else to report. I love living here. There's always something to do, but even when you don't want to do anything, you can do nothing in the pub along with all the other lingerers. The one thing that is continually a bother is how expensive everything is, but even that's getting better, with my improved grocery buying skills and the Oyster bus pass. I am sure I'll spend too much in Paris, but at least the Euro's exchange rate with the dollar isn't so punishing.
I miss everyone; when I got home from the play, I saw all these wonderful things people had written on my Facebook wall, and it's just a great reminder of how lucky I am to have such a fantastic group of friends.
Hope all is well in T-town.
Catherine
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