London, UK (1-3 Dec 2000)

Overview

Late in 2000, when I was heavily traveling to and from Cleveland for work, my friend Teresa planned a trip to London to visit some mutual friends. Being in the midst of heavy travel, I was able to swing a weekend flight "home" to Gatwick instead of the usual Newark, which led to this whirlwind tour of less than 48 hours in England.

Arrival and Sightseeing

I hit the red-eye from Cleveland to Gatwick on Friday night, which was on special a the time because Continental Airlines had just opened the route. I got in around 5 or 6 in the morning and was graciously met by Rob at the airport.

We began the trip with breakfast at the airport, which was surprisingly pleasant after the Newark and Cleveland airports that I had become accustomed to. With a little food in our bellies, we headed over to Rob's house, where he needed to do some work and I needed a nap. My first real exposure to England morning radio was about a male guinea pig that had snug into a pen full of female guinea pigs and impregnated all two dozen or so of them. That was one busy guinea pig.

Past midday Saturday, Rob finished the work he needed to do and we headed into London to do some sightseeing. Visited his university, swung by Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, and took a peek inside Harrod's. It was all pretty fast, pretty cursory, and being overcast, I didn't really bother taking too many pictures.

	Rob Wilson at his desk at Imperial College.
	Rob and Ian having their shoulders burnt off at liftoff in Rob's office at Imperial College.
	Ian, blending in with the toys at Harrod's.

For dinner, we met up with Lisa and wandered about some more, attempting to grab food on a boat that was called a castle, for some strange reason. That didn't quite pan out, so we found a place that did some nice curry instead. Lisa and I thought it was nice, at least. Rob was a little pickier.

This wasn't a particularly raucous night. Just casual food and talk. Rob and I headed home for a decent night's rest before the next day's activities, which was the big meet.

Pre-Christmas Dinner

Mind you, the meet wasn't until dinner, so we had a whole day to kill between the meet and waking up. In the morning, James and Paul met up with Rob and I and we hopped down to a pub whose name escapes me now, three years after the fact, but I think it was something like Moon Over Water or something like that. We basically spent the day there as more and more people gathered and ate and drank until it was time to go somewhere else to... gather and eat and drink. And dance.

	They didn't bring utensils, so Ian had to make do with the fish and chips he was dealt.
	Rob and Stephane Laurent-Michel being cheeky.
	James Chamier and Rob at Moon Under Water.
	Chris Stevenson playing Beer Ouija.
	Paul Skerry and Ann Marie McCarthy being schmoopy.
	Geraldine Brown and Lisa Laurent-Michel after triumphantly chasing down some firement. Okay, so I actually took this picture to grab that blonde in the tan coat. Phoar!
	The Tower of Pisser.

Christmas Dinner

When we reconvened at I-have-no-idea-where, we met up with everyone else and made use of our reservations for dinner. There was a lot of conversation, laughter, stories, card and gift exchange, snuggling, and a few drinks. Just a few.

Afterwards, the restaurant was converted into a full-on club and this evening there was a live band doing covers of the 70's, which was quite good. We all danced the night away, or as much as our constitutions could take, and some of us didn't leave until closing. After raiding a McDonald's for food, a bunch of us headed home on the train.

	Lisa and Stephane, looking like he's slowing down.
	Vic Green and her beloved Rob.
	Geraldine and Ian at dinner.
	Tony Blain falling asleep on Vic.
	Geraldine getting cozy with the waiters.
	Ian and Chris chumming up with the waitresses.
	Ian and Chris with hands down their pants. Whose hands? We're not telling.
	Lisa and Teresa Gilman, being attacked by Abi ?'s really cool shadowcrab haircut.
	Chris, illustrating that you really ought to wear a hat on your head in the wintertime.
	Geraldine and Lisa with a very mellow Jon Burton.
	Lisa, Jon, and Ann Marie. Jon does not recall exactly what he was doing to the poor girl at the time.
	Vic, taking a breather while Geraldine and Tony are "Stayin' Alive."

Denouement and Departure

With so little time left between returning home with Rob and Abi and my flight out in the morning, Rob and I decided not to go to sleep at all and tried to stay awake by figuring out what we could possibly eat from what was stored in the fridge. The pickings were pretty bare, so we eventually got Abi up from her nap and went to Gatwick where I bookended my trip with the same breakfast that I had when I landed.

It was a really fun trip, not only because of the whirlwind circumstances. It was great meeting all these people that I'd been emailing for years and I can't wait to go back sometime when I can spend more substantial time just enjoying the environs and the company.

	Abi, relaxing after a night of partying.
	Ian is accosted by shadowcrabs!
	Ian finds a kindred spirit looking for BPers.
	Abi, Ian, and Rob sneak one last moment at Gatwick Airport.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Beaver