UK Entry Two: At Room 436, Corus Hyde Park Hotel, 1-7 Lancaster Gate, Westminster, London

Home: 7:15 pm 5/5/05
Here: 12:15 am 5/6/05

A man was talking to a pole today just outside of the Pimlico tube station. He asked it to speak to him politely since he was speaking nicely to it. On our way back through three hours later, he tried to sell us garbage while singing "Jet Plane."

I stood in front of Waterhouse's "Lady of Shalott" today. I fell in love...AGAIN. It's a mournful picture, a picture of impending death, but I still want to be the Lady of Shalott. I think it's just the poem...

I toured the Globe this morning. I saw it nestled on the Bankside of the Thames and snapped a photo. White and wood stood ouyt against the city backdrop of glass and steel. Did you know 3,000 people fit inside the Globe? 1,000 groundlings standing and the rest in the bays and boxes up the sides. If your really saw it, you wouldn't believe me.

We went to the Tate Britain gallery afterwards. I would have enjoyed it more if we hadn't had h/w to do there. Cest la vive. I saw "The Lady" and "Ophelia" and nothing else really matters.

After that we went to our first British pub and had fish and chips. Our waiter laughed when we all (all four AOII's) wanted the same thing.

"I wish all my customers were this easy!" he laughed. "Cheers!"

We ate on the top floor looking out on the Tames.

We zoomed through Notting Hill and dashed through Portabello Road (which wasn't open since it wasn't market Monday). We saw Vanessa Redgrave in Hecuba: an AMAZING opportunity, but not a great show.

I could NOT not call him today. I TRIED not to, but I had to let him know that I'm alive. I miss him and can't do crap about it. Right now, I'm tired and tipsy.

Rum and coke rocks.

~At 00:34 GMT, same room.