Relaxing In London

Cindy arrived Saturday around noon, and we've been taking it easy since, although "taking it easy" includes a lot of walking. Sunday we walked along the Thames from the Tower of London down to Parliament, which is, as some people I know would say, "a fer piece."

We've been window shopping at Covent Garden (Eliza Doolittle is gone, moved south of the Thames due to changing demographics. The fresh produce and flower stalls have given way to upscale shops, very expensive cheap restaurants, and permanent flea market type booths. It's sort of like the farmer's market in New Orleans, except bigger and much more pricey.

Last night we went to see Phantom of the Opera, and we both enjoyed it. The staging was really quite extraordinary, I thought. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is very enjoyable. I knew virtually nothing about Phantom, but still was a little surprised, notwithstanding the name, at how operatic it was in style. Webber's music is not only melodic, but intelligent -- he doesn't seem to think his listeners are dolts, like, say, a Philip Glass, who repeats things 25 times, just in case you didn't get it the first 24.

Tomorrow we're going down the Thames to Greenwich. Read Robert's comment to my last post for more info.

We have a six a.m. flight Friday morning, assuming the doctor says I can leave. My appointment is Thursday morning. I've already made the plane reservation, though. I'm sure I can go: the bubble is no longer visible, which was the reason I had to stay. It will be nice to get back to Tirana, even though we're still sort of camping out there, waiting for our household goods to arrive.

Talk to you later.

dave