There is recompense for traveling alone. No arguments. No compromises. No dark clouds or judgemental overlay. But there is a cost too. Traveling with good company is wonderful. Traveling with good and knowledgable company is even better ...more energy for the experience when there is less invested in managing the lodgistics. This is the epic Sacra Cour in MontMarche. Flights of stairs to the streets below. Shiny wet streets and a little mist. Phantasmagorical panhandler. An over-arching sense of being safe amidst the novelty and lovliness. Just an overnight trip to Paris. Routine-- even tedious to people that have spent their life amidst a mix of cultures and countries. But just what I needed to get out of the holiday funk!

Christmas in London-- think of a kid with nose pressed against the glass. Clearly a lot of people having a wonderful time! Note the paper hats... English tradition I guess. Alternate versions - reindeer antlers, santa hats, elf caps...

Here's a look at Oxford. The percussion band was rocking'-- and raising money for Africa at the same time. I wish Julia went to school here. A sense of history gives one hope because it takes out the sense of inevitability. Things have changed and changed again..

New: Commiserating with my sister today: " You know we can have our dogs cloned... ""Eduardo- How much to clone the dog? " ""Just $50k"

So ... I took the milk train to Oxford from Paddington Station.
(Do the Brits have any idea how adorable it is to go to Paddington Station? I think not!) Why would I take a train with 11 stops when I could take an express.
Easy answer: duh!




But in a way it was a good excercise in transitioning. I am probably a little too virtual-- a little too unconnected to the real world. In some ways-- I feel like more of an outsider than I did in the early weeks. So- anyway, the conductor and I chatted a bit. He was from Bombay- and intensely curious why the enzymes in new-fangled detergents didn't eat up the detergent. How was it they waited and went after the juicy stains? I love curious people, don't you?

Having a hard time getting pictures to load, will come back with a link to the pictures of my impromptu journey to the seat of Bill Clinton's 1968-70 years as a Rhodes Scholar. To -- infact, the oldest university in the English speaking world! Other famous alum.. well -- include at least 10 kings of six different nations, 53 presidents and prime ministers of 19 different nations (including 25 British prime ministers), seven saints, one pope, 18 cardinals, 86 archbishops, three Fields medallists and 47 Nobel prize-winners (including winners of all categories).

Citation courtesy Wikipedia

Part of the thrill of being here is the polish and the color of the language! At work, in the press, even from the hospitality industry - my surrogate circle of friends; everything is dodgy, or bespoke, or he's a right Uncle Tom Cobbly! And then there is the Cockney rhyming slang. Too clever!

Pictures are from when I arrived and stayed in the city. (Trip 2)

Another part of the thrill, of course, is the vibe that comes from 7 million people. Again-- weather has been wonderful-- mainly bright and crisp. See pictures of Green Park, Buckingham Palace gate and fabulous trees. ( They number the trees in the park-- specimens, I suppose.) Couldn't help but photograph the lovers, ducks and little girl-- much to admire. Much snogging! Everywhere you go! Once again, wish to paint-

Interesting concert at St. Martin's , Four Seasons ala Tango. A splicing of Piazolla and Vivaldi. Very interesting-- but a bit Frankenstein-esque. Met a lovely widow lady, Martha from Colombia, Florida , Hyde Park and other destinations. Helped her write an appeal to her banker in Florida to engage the talented Mr. Setterfield to conduct Dvorak's The New World Symphony.

Errata:
Notable in today's Sunday Times : Chemical called 1 MCP, developed at NCState in 1990. 1MCP allows growers to preserve apples for six months or more. Watch for lables , marked as "smartfresh" - code for old!

Rod Liddle - decribes the trend of "Dianification" now rampant in popular culture. Refers to honoring a celebrity with an excess of sentimentality-- as if they mattered, rather than simply appealed. Liddle credits Christopher Lasch and "the culture of narcissism". "... the waning of a historical sense of time, a flight from objective reality and seriousness, an addiction to success rather than achievement, a yearning for escapist solutions, over-weening vanity and an imperative for immediate self-fulfillment rather than self-denial". The trigger for his observations, the 25th anniversary of the death of John Lennon and the puffery, the rhetoric - the ink and paper devoted to his "honor".

This is the Parklane Hotel, on Picadilly across from Hyde Park. James Barrie on ce said,
"Nothing is really work, unless you would rather be doing something else."
So as I sat sipping coffee and listening to the harpist with the sun streaming in, I could not feel overly put upon...even though I was on line, for nearly the entire beautiful Saturday. Given the demands of the job, it feels more like a change of venue that an immersion in a new place. Still-- a nice change of venue!