Day 15: London

Day 15: London

Quote of the day:

Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby

Weather: Sunny and warm to way to warm in the Tube

Pics: Local community farm, old car, Wimbledon commons, Oakland reunion at the Light Café, Bulgaria vs Russia, another decorated loo, Orjowan take-away, empty seats next to THB

RP walk and a meet-up with Ken, Kristen and Mike (Kristen and LHB were classmates, Ken and Mike you met before) for breakfast in Wimbledon at the Light Café. Ken and Mike have the English breakfast (loaded with various sausages and bacon), THB has fried egg and bacon sandwich (excellent) and a café au lait (with real coffee, a first on the trip where the coffee actually haa some flavor), poached eggs and toast for KHB, and Kristen had croissants and jam, total for THB and KHB: $20.

Transport to Earl’s Court where we dine in the take-away section of the Orjowan Lebanese restaurant (repeats of chicken shawarma, falafel, a different turnover – meat – and drinks, $16) and meet the owner, her daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren (2, 4, 7?) and THB tries to entice mom to move to Bay Area….she replies she will if THB helps fund the move. THB considers this seriously.

In an afternoon match, Russia mows down a mistake-ridden Bulgaria in 4 sets of the Men’s VB semi-finals to give THB and KHB plenty of time to get to T&F for the evening session. At VB, there are at least 5 children near us between ages of 3 and 5, and plenty of empty seats. These kids are: asleep, sucking their thumbs, leaving early, sliding down the stairs on their tushies. They are not: watching the match with any cognizance. The empty seats may be because the fans of the other semi-finalists, Italy and Brazil, are not interested and unable to effect tix swaps (we see tons of Brazilians outside with signs offering to swap). The Bulgarian fans far outnumber the Russian contingent.

Pick up salads, pomegranate seeds, lemon muffin, and light cheese bread at M&S, complement with brewski and cider at O Stadium, for a very good dinner in our seats $22.

T&F is nearing the end, and so most of the night is full of finals, with the highlight a world record in the Women’s 4x100 relay by the USA. The pole vault starts first and ends last, with a guy from France outlasting two Germans; the American and Australian (surprise gold in Beijing) vaulfters are they only two to not clear at any height. One of the American women in the 1500, a pre-race favorite for a medal, gets caught up in traffic and falls dramatically to the track in last lap and does not get up until after the race is over. 4x100 men’s relay heats set up a Jamaica vs US (don’t bet on US) final in the last session tonight.