Day 2 in London

Ani: On day two we went to the Tate Modern. I really wanted to show Ali this piece I liked by Marislav Balka, but it had already left. We just ambled around the galleries and took pictures of interesting things. Some of the stuff was inspiring, but a lot of it just made you go, "What..."
Then we went to Oxford Circus and Ali got shoes. But I am really picky and didn't get anything. After that we went to have dinner in Hyde Park and we could hear Paul McCartney's concert going on. This was definitely a highlight of the day, to hear him singing live, even though we couldn't actually see the concert.
The raspberries were really nice but the vendor who sold them to us was weird.
At the end of the day, we were pretty tired. We did a lot of walking.

Ali:Day two I felt like a real tourist. At the Tate Modern I gained a better appreciation for abstract art,,it's mostly the process, not the product you have to admire. Though of course the works that actually looked like something were my favorites epecially the paintng I dubbed "lascivious ham" (see above). Oxford Circus has all the shops and being girls, we spent quite a bit too much time perusing the selections without actually buying anything. The best part of the day was just sitting on the grass: outside Tate, eating lunch and then in Hyde Park, listening to Paul McCartney while dozing off.

the adventure begins...

Saturday June 26th

Ali: Arrived in at Tooting after a couple minor hiccups. First I got my arrival day wrong, poor ani lost her head thinking she was the one who got the date wrong waiting for me outside the dorms for two hours on Friday morning. Second the taxi driver got lost in Tooting, the poor old man. And poor old me, thinking I'd never get to Furzedown. FINALLY, I arrived at Furzedown Halls and ani popped out the gate. I was struck at how pasty my ex-pat sister had become. I immediately made a mental we must get some sun. but she still my sister, though pasty, and I was literally squealing and jumping like a someone who hadn't seen my sister in 6 months!!!

to make a long story short, I didn't sleep a wink the whole day, walked a crazy distance (in Guam standards), had terrible jet lag the whole night and was completely incredulous that I am actually padding around the great city of London with my sis. Further, I am happy to report Ani is still very much alive and thriving despite the lack of sun and living without Mom for the last 12 months.

Ani: Well, I feel as if Ali sufficiently explained the first part of that day. After we lugged her baggage up to the 8th floor of the tower of Furzedown Halls, I gave her the grand tour. She was not impressed. Honestly, I've been living in these student conditions for long enough that none of its modest accoutrements bother me much anymore. Ali made me fully aware of my feral surroundings. I feel like you have to let your standards down sometimes because if you don't, then you'll constantly be disgruntled.

We went to Camberwell because I had to invigilate the illustration part of the college art show. But first, we had a picnic of felafel at the nearby park. The felafel man gave us free apples.

On our way back we stopped in Brixton, as I wanted to show Ali Electric Avenue (the one the song is based on) and there we chanced upon a lovely used bookstore. Then we had to get Ali her digital camera at Argos, and stopped in for a photo op at a creepy old cemetery in Streatham.

All in all, it was a low-key day, but not without its nice little moments. I am glad to have Ali here and excited to show her all London has to offer. She has learned quickly the motions of bus catching and taking the tube, and proves to be a very useful navigator. I swear the girl has magnetic poles in her brain because she intuitively knows North from South etc.



Jetlag sucks.