Three weeks ago, I heard the phone ringing, saw it was London callin' and I answered! Here I am on this grey day. Even though it's a typical London day, I can easily deal with London's weather over that of most other places I've lived or been to. This morning I saw Maria off to work and as I exited South Kensington station, I was impressed at the sheer size of the Natural History Museum. The building is huge!
It's amazing how London has such impressive and varied architecture despite all that the city has endured in its 2,000 year history! With more lives than a cat and more personalities than Elizabeth Taylor, London has survived epidemics, blitzes, fires, terrorist attacks, famines, floods, and just about everything else! Yet this amazing city has a sense of history that you feel beating more powerful than the lead drummer in a heavy metal band. London, just like Maria, has stolen my heart! As I waltzed on into the impressive museum, I'm amazed at the array of exhibits; some of which I've seen similar in other museums, but perhaps most impressive is the sex gallery, for which Maria gave me an entry ticket. Colloquially I call it the "sexhibition" and it shows all manner of info regarding sex. My favourite quote in the gallery is "sex is emotion in motion." True that. As a gift I got Maria a tin of mints that says "snog me senseless." What Americans call "making out" is "snogging" in England. Don't let the British lingo confuse you. The Natural History Museum is downright impressive! And I must say I like it even better than the British Museum. Admission is free, too. Today I spent over four hours at the museum and I definitely had my fill of mammals, reptiles, geology, and the whole lot. Counting down the minutes to a lovely dinner with Maria tonight, I got on the tube to Soho to see Piccadilly Circus and Broad Street pump memorial. As I've previously mentioned The Ghost Map is about the cholera epidemic of 1854, and I didn't know about the memorial whilst here three years ago.
As I stroll through Soho, I think about the circumstances I've been through and how I've managed to pull off all my travels. As I've probably mentioned, I've funded my travels by poetry busking, bagging groceries, laying concrete, making sandwiches, and just about every other job you could think of. I've stayed with locals at least once in nearly every country I've been to. I'm a young man with Asperger's, who grew up in a broken home where money was only sporadic, who has seen the world the way he wants to! Ever since I was a lad I've always known that I wanted to travel, and I used to always talk about all the places I wanted to visit. Now I've been to many of them! Piccadilly Circus I floated past by and then I visited the Broad Street pump memorial. London sure has its fair share of famous streets: Baker Street (Sherlock Holmes), Abbey Road (Beatles), Broadwick Street (1854 cholera epidemic), and many others. Speaking of, Maria seems surprised at my limited knowledge of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Later that evening I take the Victoria Line to Vauxhall Station where I stroll around, chatting up some young men from Eritrea whilst strutting my geography skills. An hour later I catch a glimpse of lovely Maria, waiting for me. As much as I wanted to surprise her with a hug from behind, she saw me. Hand in hand, we were on our way to dinner at Adulis restaurant. It was a grey evening with a light drizzle falling from the heavens, and it wasn't too cold. Every time I look into Maria's eyes, I see she's my light and that anytime with her is a special time. Adulis is rather fancy with a traditional Eritrean setting. As our food is served, I realize that Eritrean fare is very much like Ethiopian. For those of you who don't know, Eritrea used to be part of Ethiopia until it became independent in 1993. As we feast whilst eating with our hands, I can't help myself from always smiling at Maria. For the grand finale to our amazing dinner, we opted for the Eritrean coffee ceremony. The server brings the beans over and roasts them in front of you, bringing out the full aroma of the coffee, and then the coffee is served in a traditional clay flask alongside incense.
Amazing! The coffee is the absolute best coffee I've ever had! Even better than the coffee in Havana. It most certainly will keep you awake for hours, but it's simply otherworldly! Eritrean food, and coffee. It's the perfect London date!
