Trips Afield

What a weekend it has been!  Jon and I have been bouncing all over London and beyond.

Two of my friends from the states, the newly-married Justin and Lindsey, are in London on their honeymoon and yesterday the four of us had adventures!  We started at Borough Market - no trip to London is complete without a Saturday morning spent at Borough Market - where we indulged in lattes from Monmouth Coffee, an amazing coffee/espresso place that, on principal, only uses full-fat milk.  We picked up cheeses and meats, a baguette, and wine, and then headed across the Thames and down the bank of the river to Tower Pier, where we hopped a Thames Clipper to Greenwich.  In Greenwich we climbed the hill to the Royal Observatory and ate our picnic lunch with the city spread out below us, wandered around the Old Royal Naval College, had a pint in the Trafalgar Tavern, and then went to a delicious dinner at the Old Brewery.   (If you like beer, the Old Brewery is the place to go: not only it is a microbrewery in its own right, it pairs each item on the menu with a specific beer and most of the foods somehow involve beer!  Nom.)  The weather wasn't great - it was overcast, though warm - but it was a wonderful day.  Plus, Jon and Justin, who had never met before, got along beautifully.  Here's a photo of the budding bromance:

And, because I can't help it, here's an adorable (if I do say so myself) photo of me and Jon:

This morning I went out to Bromley (even having been there for four hours, I still don't know where Bromley is) to sing a service at a random church as a favor to a friend - they were singing Brahms' How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings Fair and they needed some more soprano oomph.  There was a parish-wide Pimms drink-up after the service, which was fun.  (Can someone explain to me why there isn't institutionalized drinking associated with churches in the States?  It's a shame!)  Then I met Jon out in Kent for a barbecue (not another barbecue!) at a friend's house.  The weather was perfect: warm and bright, with not a cloud in the sky.  Actually, it was so hot it was draining - we only lasted a few hours before we headed back home.

So, yes, an adventurous weekend!  I'm looking forward to a quiet night in - maybe some Top Gear, maybe some The IT Crowd, and maybe some Indian take-away.  (The IT Crowd, by the way is one of the funniest TV shows I've seen in a long time.  You've got to check it out!  Best line recently, from the very nerdy character Moss: "I've come here to drink milk and to kick ass... and I've just finished my milk.")

Hope you've all had a lovely weekend!