London Baby!

Well, that's what Joey said on "Friends" and since this about friends visiting, well.....

It is hard to imagine a more beautiful weekend in London - unless you have great friends in town that make it even better! Sorry this entry is a bit late. I could think of a really good excuse, but it would be a lie. I got nothing.

So last Thursday, Kelley and her mom, Ellen, came to London to visit. However, they were slightly delayed at Heathrow at immigration. Just kidding, they were stalled at baggage claim. Or in Ellen's case, no baggage claim. Her bags didn't make the flight, so they hopped on the train and I met them on the way to my flat. After a scenic tour through the posh 'hood of Bethnal Green, I headed back to work and they slept off some jetlag. They were able to rally and meet me after work for a pint in a local pub and then some dinner. We took the long way home through the notorious Brick Lane and called it a night. Still no bags for Ellen.

Friday found me back at work (what a bother - always seems to get in the way) while Kell and Ellen headed down to the west where Kell had rented a room in the easy-to-find Best Western so that we would be central to all the things we wanted to do. This wasn't like any Best Western I had stayed at - our room was beautiful. After work, I met them and we headed out. Not sure if this is uniquely London, but it was pretty common to order a beer and then take it outside and drink it on the sidewalk, or in our case, then a dead end street. It looked like a regular Chicago street fair with everyone drinking in the streets. After, we decided that proper English fish and chips were in order. Then back to the hotel - still no bags.

Saturday was probably the prettiest day in London history - mid 70's and blue skies. Perfect for an open top bus tour (which I had been dieing to do since I got to London, but was waiting until I had the excuse of "tourists"). We also visited the famous Harrods for a little shopping and general ogling. There was a display of shoes that I might think about well into my nineties. To wrap a great day, we squeezed a little thee-ah-ter. "We will rock you" a musical based on the lyrics of Queen. It was a blast. Entertaining? Absolutely. Great music? Of course. Great plot? Umm, did I mention how great the music was?

Of course, all that being rocked made us hungry. So we headed for a little post theater meal. At this point, it might be pertinent to mention I had 3 glasses of wine during the show (only to catch up with Kell and Ellen who did a little pre-funking at the Manchester United game earlier). Well, we thought we found a happening little Greek place for dinner, but there was so much going on, I think the waiters forgot they served food. It was like walking into a Greek wedding - within minutes, we were dancing on the chairs. The highlight was the belly dancer. The 3 of us were mesmerized. I have bad news for anyone who has vested time in helping me with my career - I'm quitting to become a belly dancer. Don't try and talk me out of it. It was the best free entertainment I've ever had! Although we tried, we never got around to ordering anything. And that's all I can write about the Greek place - all other details are property of an ironclad pact the 3 of us made as we left. But you think that was the end of the night? No way. Kell and I hit a couple of clubs in Soho to finish off the night. Much fun was had, but still no bags.

Sunday, we headed pack to my flat to drop some thhings and headed straight out again to do Spitalfields and the London Eye. We had some transportation challenges, but towards the end of the day, we happily ended up finding our way to the lovely convent garden area and some sublime dining. We were pretty wiped by early evening called it an early night. You guessed it, no bags.

Monday, work got in the way for me again, but they headed to Oxford Street and did some power shopping. Meeting me at St. Paul’s after work, we took in a scenic walk of the church and headed over Millennium Bridge. We had some wine at a place on the south bank of the Thames (which I have learned is pronounced Timmes). One thing that made itself obvious to all of us was that service in London is pretty bad. There is a reason tipping is not common here. Heaven forbid you need your server between the time they take your order and drop off the check.

So we get back to my place on Monday night and there is message on my machine from Kelley's dad "Hi girls. I just got a call from United. They found the bag. It's still in South Carolina." Of course it was found because they were heading home the next day!