Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Liberty Chatchka

Today we had a visit from Lynn, one of my oldest friends from Philadelphia, her husband and grandson. We hadn't seen each other for probably 20 years and it was so amazing to see her again. We both look exactly the same! Really, we do. Really.

Her husband is also wonderful and her grandson (age 16) is a delight. We had dinner at our usual favorite Le Deuxieme and it was exquisite, as always.

She brought me a little Liberty Bell as a remembrance from Philadelphia. It's so cute. She really is a special friend and it was amazing to be able to spend some time with her in my wacky new life in London.

Perfection in East Finchley

This evening we went to an absolutely exquisite recital by soprano, Mutsumi Hatano and lutenist, Takashi Tsunoda in East Finchley.

We have all their cd's and she is one of the few sopranos I've heard that does not shreek the higher she sings. In fact, last night in one of her songs she sang up high with beautifully controlled and subtle volume. Truly outstanding. Also, her stage presence is wonderful; she is beautiful and expressive. Takashi Tsunoda's lute accompaniment was flawless and his solo pieces were gorgeous.

Coincidentally, one of our favorite couples, Stephen Gottlieb and Jane Dorner were there (btw, check out Jane's glass work, she's fabulous). It was great to see them, as always, and to our surprise and delight are friends with Mutsumi and Takashi and invited us back to their house for a small reception.

Of course, I gushed my adoration when I met them and told Mutsumi Hatano I have all their cd's, etc. It was an honor to have the opportunity to meet the both of them. Thank you, Jane and Stephen!

A Day With Dad

Today we took the train to Henley-On-Thames to have lunch with John's father Jack and his girlfriend Linda. We haven't seen them in several years so it was a really enjoyable afternoon. Linda's son, also named John, is rowing in the Henley Royal Regata. This is his second time in the event and everyone is excited to be there.

The town is gorgeous, with the boats gliding along the Thames and rowing teams practising for the races. A delightful day!

Laundry

We're back!

John and I each arrived in London this morning, within a couple hours of each other. Before jet lag had a chance to set in we went to lunch at Pizza Express and then to John Lewis to buy a washer/dryer now that we can't run over to the old apartment to do our laundry. It's coming Wednesday, yay!

This month is going to be all about getting organized, furniture delivered, artwork delivered and hung, and shopping for a few more necessities like... sheets, towels and the dreaded plastic hangers.

London is really nice this time of year, sunny and actually a little too warm. It's going to be fun month!

Travel Ideal

The countdown has started, as John and I travel to rendezvous in London tomorrow morning.

For the past week John has been in New York City at a licensing trade show to promote Magnatune and had a great time. I can't deal with trade shows so I stayed in Berkeley but missed him a lot. I also apparently missed a lot of amazing theatre on Broadway; sometimes I'm such an idiot.

As always, Clyde has spent nearly all his time with me and will be here until the minute I leave. Here he is sleeping on the sofa where he spends all his time while I read my book.

Although my travel ideal is to have only a backpack, I will have a carry-on for my summer clothes. An interesting story about my travel ideal: when I travelled to San Francisco from London this last time in May I had only my backpack which included my noise-cancelling headphones, iPod, maalox and other necessities. Not having to drag a carry-on around with me or wait for my luggage was really a dream come true. I breezed off the plane, through immigration, past the luggage retrieval and was at the final checkpoint in a matter of minutes.

Then. The official at the final customs gate (where they just wave you through or, depending on whether any planes from third-world countries just landed, they open your bags and ask you where you bought your socks) took my landing card, frowned and said, "Where's your luggage?" I smiled, pleased that I had achieved my travel ideal, and said I didn't have any. He scowled and said in a tone that was less than friendly, "No luggage? Why not?"

What do you mean 'why not?' Is this a police state? Am I required by law to travel with tons of inconvenient baggage? What difference does it make whether I have luggage or not?

Well, of course I didn't say that but it's what I was thinking. I explained I live in both cities and as I started to elaborate on my travel ideal he said, "I understand ma'am, you may proceed."

Thanks very much you fascist government moron... which is what I said, on the inside '-)

So, while my travel ideal appeals to me it apparently makes me look suspicious. BTW, I was not the only person who had no luggage. Hopefully no one required a cavity search.

London Anniversary

It was one year ago that I started this blog about our move to London.

What an amazing year it has been. Looking back I can't believe the great things we've seen and wonderful people we've met.

On Sunday we return to London and are really looking forward to it.

California Safari

In case anyone is wondering what we do in California when we're not in London...

Today we went to Safari West, a real safari right in Northern California!

First we stopped for BBQ in Santa Rosa that was pretty good. Our best friend and neighbor, Bob, went with us on today's excursion. He and John are really into BBQ and have been sampling BBQ restaurants all over the San Francisco Bay Area.

Then we drove a few minutes to Safari West. It is an impressive place. While we were waiting for the tour jeep to depart, we hung around where the giraffes are. As I was looking up at one of the giraffes he decided to bend his head down right in front of my face! In the photo it doesn't look as close as it ended up being but you can see the look of astonishment on my face. Very cool!

Once in the jeep they drove us around the many acres that included many jungle animals, from ostriches to impalas and many animals I never heard of. They were all outrageously beautiful. It was an amazing experience and one we didn't expect to find so close to home.