so strange...

It's so strange to me that as I've already showered, eaten breakfast, and am ready to be on my way, most of you still haven't even woken up yet. It doesn't seem like you're that far away...

So strange is a perfect description of yesterday. Went to the Globe to buy my tickets for Fridays performance of As You Like It (heard it was just great!) Then went to Tate Modern, which I really loved. Great Pollack, Krasner and others. Also had some that I had never heard of before that I really liked.

Then went to Trafalgar Square where Canada Day was in full swing. It was ok, but, being that I'm not Canadian, I couldn't really get into it. I thought, Maybe if I was going to be here on the 4th of July, there would be a special party and I would love it...then I remembered what the 4th of July is all about, and I decided they probably wouldn't be celebrating it.

After that I went to the National Gallery. As I was walking through, a voice came out of no where as if it was speaking to me. I looked around and the voice continued to speak. "Look at the painting," the voice said. "It's beautiful, no?" Finally my eyes locked with the speaker. He kept talking, telling me all about the painting, asking what I thought. I didn't know what to make of him or the painting, so I just smiled and nodded, and tried to walk away, but he kept talking. He seemed very nice, and then he started to walk with me and tell me all about the paintings. I thanked him for his insight and he said, "Come, I will be your guide." He told me that he was an artist and that he had been in Scotland with some other artists painting landscapes, and he showed me his favorite artist, and asked me where I was from and was shocked to learn that I was American b/c I don't have an American accent (what? - I promise I wasn't speaking in some strange accent), and I don't look American and he wanted to sketch me.

So didn't really get to look at very much in the National Gallery b/c he wanted to show me the National Portrait Gallery. So we walked over there, and he said he wanted to show me his paintings and that I would love them, and that he would take me somewhere to listen to jazz, and that I should come to France and stay with his sister, and that I had such a nice face structure, and that you shouldn't spend more than a half hour in any museum b/c it's such a beautiful day, and then he led me out of the National Portrait Gallery and into the street, and said, "Ok, now you come see my paintings." I thanked him but said that I had to meet a friend for dinner which he was very upset about, and told me to have dinner with them for two hours and then meet up with him later which I told him I wasn't going to do and then he said that he was lecturing this morning but that we could spend time together after that, to which I said I was doing other things today, and then he was very upset and started to guilt me by saying I had spent this time with him, etc. It was so uncomfortable...

Anyway, we ended up shaking hands and parting ways. I was a bit disoriented as to where I was, so I looked at the map and figured out the nearest tube stop. As I was walking past the National Gallery, I saw him walking back in...

...perhaps my life was spared and I don't even know it...

...I'm too nice...

But then I traveled to North London and had dinner with Pam, Mike, and Darius Golafshar, and had the most wonderful end to the day! They all came to the tube stop to pick me up, and then we traveled back to their adorable flat, where Pam made the most amazing dinner ever! (salmon, spinach, and mashed potatoes) and Darius let me watch Nemo with him and read him a bedtime story. Darius is absolutely beautiful! He's seems so much older than his two and half years, with two pudgy little cheeks that are dented with dipples! Completely adorable!!

Pam and Mike haven't changed at all, and are such fantastic people. They regaled me with stories of all their travels (they're amazing!) and we talked as if there was no time between us. I so admire them both! They say hi to all, and hopefully Pam and I will be able to hang out one more time before I leave.

Today, I'm taking a River Boat down the Thames to Hampton Court. Then I'll walk around Hampton Court Palace and the gardens and relax, maybe grabbing a spot of grass and resting for a while. Then I'm going to take a bus back and head to Primrose Hill, which has the best view of London.

I'm really having such a great time! I can't believe that I only have two more days before I head back to the States. Still, I'll be glad to be with you all again...

love you miss you!