The adventure began at 1:30 pm in Paris' Gare du Nord terminal, 45 miniutes in advance of our departure - keeping in line with the recommended advance in the Eurostar rule book. We were taking no chances The entire check-in process went smoothly, along the way we ran into Cleber's web site designer and a policeman who apparently sopke Portugese after questionning Cleber where he was from and realizing he was Brazilian, addindg a touch of that French welcoming manner a little bom dia to set him on his way. Upon arriving at the customs desk we were stared and at and measured from head to toe. There was a definite air of "high security" tension, as both Cleber and I were questioned regarding various pieces of our passport puzzle that could be considered security risks at best. Between the double line which was drawn on the corner of the stamp which we received in Barcelona over our romantic Valentine's weekend and my passport photo which was apparently coming unglued, we managed to convince the border control that we were not security risks and we lugged our bags across the finish line and stood in line waiting for the 2:13 train to St. Pacras.
Cleber and I arrived on time and in one piece in London's St. Pancras' terminal and proceeded through the waiting arms of various police, family members and friends waiting for various passengers on our train. We couldn't help but mark this occasion with a photo of Cleber in mid terminal with British police just at his side, and the glorious clock in the distance announcing are on time arrival and the extra hour we had just been granted, only to be taken away a few hours later.
Hoped on the Central District Line, and away we went to West Hampstead, where we were staying at my friend Sanjeev's beautiful bachelor pad. We arrived, were let into the house by his lovely neighbors and proceed to make ourselves at home. I had one goal in mind, however, and that was to get my feet prettied up and ready for action. My friend, Reshma, kindly made an appointment at a local nail salon and so I was off with my Todd's and a umbrella (just in case) while Cleber attended to dipping our clothes in anti-mosquito repelant. Needless to say the minute I stepped out the door, it was pouring rain and hail and I wondered who truly had the better deal, me or Cleber.
I made my way down Finchley Road as quickly as my soaking moccasin's could take me...Upon arriving at the nail salon a sense of halleluiah came over me as I envisioned my being taken care of by a small asian woman who would attend to my foots every need and I could just sit back and relax. As I opened the door a wave of warmth came over me and with it a toxic wave of intense chemical smell that overwhelmed me to such a degree that I rushed in cancelled my appointment and stood outside sheepishly waiting for Reshma to arrive so I could let her know that there was no way that I would not last in this chemical closet. And so I returned to my Cleber.
That night Reshma and Phillip organized an evening out at a traditional pub in Hampstead, called the Holly Bush. I wanted to make sure that Cleber had a pub experience. And sure enough it was all that and more. After parking the car and walking amongst some of the most gorgeous pieces of real estate - owned by many rich and some of the more famous in London, including Scary Spice's pad, we arrived at this very traditional and quaint pub where sounds of merry beer drinkers and pub employees scurrying about greeted us upon our arrival. Without hesitation we made our way directly to the bar and ordered our first round. Cleber began with a dark ale recommended by Phillip, and Reshma and I stuck with lemonade. The entire building, encased in wood, had ceilings which were rather low giving you a feeling of cozy tout de suite. We were lucky enough to get a table, in the back, where we sat down to prepare for the second portion of our evening which involved the tasting of local specialties including a steak, kidney and oyster pie, and a lentil cake complete with greens and a light drizzle of tomato sauce. My friends Cheryl and Ryan joined us in this feast and we all enjoyed the evening together before I asked to call it a night as I was exhausted.
We made it home, got ready for bed and off to dream land we went. The next day was approaching fast and we wanted to be ready for our next adventure to the Columbia Road Flower Market.
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