5 days married

we’ve quickly relearned how to sleep in. 1pm never came so quick.

yesterday (thursday, 5 june), it was sunny in london—again! we spent the day and night walking, trying most of that time to pin point that weird little underground thames walk path. we found it:

after traipsing through michael hoppen gallery’s photo exhibit by wonderkind california girl alex prager and what was supposed to be richard avedon but instead turned out to be that fabu photog who shot that one we've all seen, “american girl in italy.” but i digress. the walk path—think ultra-mini-detroit-to-windsor tunnel meets the catacombs in poe’s “the cask of amontillado”—dank, drippy, echoey—with the occasional bike rider whizzing by. about that trek vin summed it up: “well that’s four hours of my life i’ll never get back.” true enough. he’ll be choosing today and tomorrow’s adventures. if our luck holds, i’ll be able to complain bitterly. ; j.

back to the biking…yesterday the whole city seemed to be running or biking along the thames, including a bunch of people on crack. not the drug. the peekaboo-butt-crack that keeps popping up when the back of the pants refuses to. (an eyeful of this and you’ll never again complain about biker shorts that fit.) eesh.

but even london’s crack habit couldn’t kill our appetite. by 10pm we were starving and cranky and bitching at each other just like married people, and we’d just missed dinner hour with “fabulous” kidney pie wth pea gravy at THE GUN, the little pub tucked into a tiny neighborhood that WHERE [LONDON] magazine calls a “must-visit gastropub in canary wharf.” not only did the place look and smell worth its accolades, a local in the know said that from the cozy terrace one can gossip and eavesdrop loudly and happily and catch the greenwich mean time laser that scans the wharf. we plan to head back there when you visit sometime in august and/or september ; j . maybe we’ll also catch david attenborough’s exhibit—THE ART OF NATURAL HISTORY IN THE AGE OF DISCOVERY. (yes, we’re nerds.) the show unites the work of four artists including leonardo—all of whom shared a passion for the unusual aspects of nature at a time when new species and varieties were turning up just about daily. the exhibit runs until 28 september. fyi.

and in case you’re wondering what madonna’s doing on 9/11, she’s in london with her new show, SWEET AND STICKY. tickets prices...ready?? 198 pounds. that’s almost 400 bucks. material girl, indeed.

we ended the day’s escapades by reading aloud THEM by joyce carol oates. well, i read. it’s really good, so vin stayed with me for a few pages. At this rate we should get to WUTHERING HEIGHTS by, oh, our first anniversary.

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thursday, 5 june

today under muted skies (ah, england!) we’re heading north to durham to visit friends robert and laurie and their wee ones. seems even a pricey train fare doesn’t secure you a seat, though. we spent the beginning of the three-hour ride keeping company with the fire extinguishers between “carriages” (that’s “compartments” for anyone who dudn’t speak the queen’s english). it could be worse. the kids who “forgot” to pay got seats—next to each other even—got charged something like 700 bucks each for the favor. oh to be seventeen, busted, and in love. (but shuh, two outta three ain’t too bad. last night vin and i got caught with our hands in the candy jar--literally--by hotel staffers. toblerone. big bowls of the stuff at the registration counter. who could resist?)

sun’s peeking out. just brilliant.

[vince here: stac just went to bed. here are some pics from our trip to Durham, and this evening at the Cavins':

Man on train next to Stacy demonstrating untoward behavior:

Vince, admonishing stac to use the wrist strap!!!

Bro pats all around!

Robert & kids:

and that, my friends, is family life in northern England. Tomorrow, a quick tour of Durham, then off to Edinburough, hopefully in an assigned seat on the train...

Vince (&Stac, whose sawin' logs)]