Coffees

January 23, 2007: We woke up feeling utterly exhausted and possibly still a little drunk from getting in so late the night before. But, the thing about a vacation, particularly one of such grandeur as what you encounter in London, England, is that sleep can always happen later. And must. An added challenge was that the Melia White House bed was extremely comfortable. But it was London - far too much exploration needed to take place, especially with our time constraints. So, we heaved ourselves out of bed and showered and dressed for another day. This was the morning we went to the cafe at Great Portland Street W1W 5PP (yes, addresses are peculiar in London, to Americans, at least) located just outside the Great Portland Street tube stop, Cafe Meze, where I had the best cup of coffee ever. EVER, please let me stress ever. It tasted like heaven in a cup, if there is such a thing. And here we were, not even at a stupid Starbucks! There were two types of coffee on the menu: white, and black. I couldn't bear to stand at the counter, my head was reeling that badly from the previous night, so I sort of waved in the direction of the menu hanging overhead, and dimly spoke to Craig, "English Breakfast #1 with Coffee," heading in the direction of an available table as quickly as I could. Craig ordered at the counter for us, then came over and shortly after arrived the cup, albeit small and resting on a saucer, of the deliriously good coffee veiled in a thin froth of steamed milk. Oh, it was perfect. And the breakfast arrived and even it was alright, for English food, although the baked beans spilling onto my eggs, fried tomato and mushrooms (all constituting an English breakfast, mind you) were a bit much for my liking. But I ate around the baked beans.*Following breakfast, we headed right to one of London's tourist hot spots, The London Eye. This is a giant ferris wheel operated by British Airways, consisting of a huge wheel and enclosed capsules that lift ever so slowly up over London, carrying passengers to heights that the intercom lady measured in meters so I failed to do the conversion and therefore cannot say how high we rose, but it was high. Anyway, we bought tickets for the ride, and were on board very shortly after...what with it being a week day during an off season in London, I don't think tourists were out in full force.

I think what I noticed most is how difficult it can be to take something in all at once. Riding The London Eye was an incredible experience, especially on such a fine, clear day. But at the same time, it was difficult to properly pay respect to how gorgeous the view really was as we rose higher and higher. There were distractions: other tourists from other countries, a pair of children running around the capsule in awe, themselves, et cetera. But I still loved doing it. Much like going to the top of the Empire State Building, or to Top of the Rock, or to the top of the Needle in Toronto, it was just difficult to swallow how expansive, miniature, simultaneously huge and amazing the world can be when seen from so high up.
Here, in just about the center of the photograph, nearer the left, is Buckingham Palace, as seen from the Eye. We loved England so much. And I'm not even finished explaining it all yet. For the sake of a Thursday night, one which finds Craig attending a scaffolding class, and one which finds me freezing, sitting here in the chilly den, I'm going to close for now. But the conclusion to our trip, including the remainder of the day following our London Eye ride, is still to come. Here's to London, and all we managed to see and do.*