18-Dec

What do fast moving jet aircraft, peanut butter, and birthday-clown magic tricks all have in common???





Other than be mentioned in this post, absolutely nothing.








Leah and I got to enjoy a nice night out in London Central for her birthday last weekend. It began when I showered her with gold coins and precious herbs as she left work. (I always go for the "Wow" factor....) We made our way downtown to London's largest skating rink in Hyde Park for one hour of skating. Now...don't get me wrong, I'm a math person...and if indeed your ice rink is the largest by area in London, you have every right to advertise it as such. But, you should realize that people will be expecting a lake-sized expanse of finely sheeted ice which meets the horizon in all directions. The reality is, however, anti-climactic - but we enjoyed every second of our hour on the ice. (well...45 mins..we got there late..) Plus...0 wipeouts.





The rink is part of a Christmas-time family attraction called The Winter Wonderland. A few shops, some rides, and a haunted house(?) filled out the rest of the park area. I managed to snap a photo of one of the more interesting shops we spotted along the way. I wish I got the guy behind the counter included in this shot. He looked equally as festive as the products he was selling....axes and reindeer hides. Nothing like fresh reindeer jerky and a handaxe for last minute stocking stuffers.





Next we took a walk down the most posh street I've ever been on, Sloan Street. I got the feeling we were going to be taxed for getting footprints on the sidewalk. We ended up at a nice little restaurant called Mimosas where our streak of being nearly the only customers continued. Tonight, we didn't mind. Other nights...it gives you the feeling that the restaurant just got slapped with 32 health code violations the night before and your the only one who didn't get the memo. It was a nice place despite them overcharging 12.50 for an item listed only as "Food" on the check. Other non-food menu items included, "Bits of Plastic", "Shards of Glass", and "Sand".





We're both pretty excited to make our trip back to the states for the holidays. It'll serve as nice intermission for me - seperating the transitional phase from the travel and productivity phase. Plus, neither one of us can wait to see the familty and friends that we've been away from.





Next year, we're hoping to get in some good travel (which is being planned already) and have some good trips to write about. My personal hope is that next year, Leah and I are able to continue realizing the vision that we both had before coming here. These past five months have been memorable in their own right. It's already become difficult accounting for all the things that have broadened my views and awareness. That was expected.





Merry Christmas.





More to come next year.....