To London To London.......

4th Dec- off to the airport, butterflies in my tummy, no agenda in mind but sure of one thing- To have the time of my life!

Arrival at Heathrow meeting pisho for the 1st time ever and totally in love with his concerned yet not so interfering demeanour. In the evening just went around in the wembley park and heathrow neighbourhood. Pisho took us to an Indian supermarket to pick up some paranthas and samosas for his beloved jamai and namesake Amit. With monkudi and baju joining in the fun by late evning, we just had to sum it up with some amazing adda session and catching up on anything and everything.

5th Dec-Our schedule is being worked out by Baju and Monkudi and we zero in for the Madame Tussauds-London Dungeons and London Eye combo with Chhopishi for the day. Also pack some stuff in a stroller for staying over at Anu-Pallavi’s for the night. Had an out an out fun day walking through the London streets, getting acquainted with the brilliant London underground and pretty much soaking it all in. Met up anu over coffee in the evening and headed to his placee at Deptford Bridge (nice and compact pad) which is a very organized gated community(complete with super market, gym, tennis court, swimming pool, lounge etc) Another adda session by the evening with some free flowing booze and a movie called Oye Lucky Lucky Oye much later. The next day’s agenda- Undecided!

6th Dec-Waiting at their place for the entire 1st half of the day, trying to figure out what to do today!!!! No agenda no guideline nothing fixed. Ultimately left the house at 4pm to hit the Greenwich Village Market (A videshi version of our very own Dilli Haat- but with an explosive repertoire of world food and lifestyle goods) I tasted some yummy mulled wine for the 1st time and must say was quite blown out with its spicy tangy taste. Moved to the GMT next which honestly I couldn’t make much sense of during the night. I knew the gates closed at 5pm everyday and we were missing out on some real good stuff unless we plan another rendezvous at this place. Ferry on the Thames was next- This was a pretty novel ride which took us around some of London’s choicest landmarks (from Greenwich-to London eye-to tower bridge-to London bridge-the HMS Belfast moving past canary wharf, St.Pauls, The Museums etc. London by the night looked utterly gorgeous. Finally we went to Oxford Circus to watch the famous London Westend theatre staging the evergreen play-The Sound of Music. I am speechless! What do I say,every word would sound like an understatement! The actors, the sets, the music, the theatre-GORGEOUS! To say the least. As long as I was in, I knew I was going through the experience of a lifetime and I was happy that Amit was with me in it! I sorely missed baba, nanu and maa and wished they could take it in too. While I was still reeling under the hangover from the play- we all decided to hop on lil rickshaws which took us around the frenzy of the oxford street, all dressed up in its Saturday night and countdown to X-Mas fervour. Next we did Soho, Picadilly and Trafalgar and finally headed home for some yummy dinner whipped up by Chhopishi

7th Dec-We cover the magnificent Tower of London, St.Katherine’s Dock and the not-so-great Spitalfield marketplace. The best part of the day was the lovely family dinner buffet we all had at Sakoni’s. Never imagined vegetarian food in faraway London could be so delicious. After stuffing ourselves like Pigs, Amit and Me took off to Canary Wharf to meet with anu-pallavi once again for yet another night-out at their place.Had a quick drink at a nearby pub and headed homewards.

8th Dec- Today we are on our own and there is an immense sense of confidence in the air, ‘All alone in big big London!’ Wow What Fun! We get separated at the Canary Wharf station…as I reach Westminster and he is still stranded at Canary Wharf. Later I panic and plead Baju to help coordinate between us and like they say-It pours when it rains-our mobiles decided not to work either. Anyway after wasting an hour in coordinating back and forth. We meet at exit 4 of the Westminster station and set forth to explore the Westminster Abbey. It took us exactly 2 and half hours to cover the whole of the abbey; simply coz there was so much to see. Its rich history and architecture simply engulfed us and we were swept in the grandeur. I mean just imagine walking over the coronations and burials of the Elizabeth 1, Mary queen of Scots, Jane Austin, Shakespeare, DH Lawrence, Einstein, Newton et all I mean I couldn’t believe my luck. It darkens in London post 3pm everyday and our camera gives up on us, so it’s typically between-12 and 2:30noon that we can flash as much as we can. We are hungry but we take a leisurely walk down the beautiful St. James Park watching the lovely flock of birds and naughty squirrels all around up to the Buckingham Palace. And here we are at 'The Buckingham palace'! But honestly it dint fascinate me as much as the other places did! Wonder why….Checked out the Queen’s gallery and picked up some real nice souvenirs though ended up shelling out a lot of money for the same….We split again as the boy went to spend the evening at a friends Budday while I decided to stick with my sisters and have a fun girls night out which included gorging on a delicious Chinese buffet. Ah sheer bliss!

9th Dec- Again all by ourselves, meeting at Westminster. An unbearably cold day today, we just went Brrrrrrrrr all through….we walked down St. James again…much more beautiful by the day and what do we see now the ‘Changing of Guards’ at the Buckingham Palace! Now this was something! Charming guards in their smart attires and the long black headgears marching past everyone else. Brilliant indeed! OK head towards the breathtaking St. Paul’s cathedral. Again no flashes allowed inside so all we have are beautiful memories of the magnificent cathedral resplendent in its rich architecture, history and culture. A wonderful thing that we got to experience in London were the brilliant audio guides that one gets to pick up. These guides simply make the overall experience all the more effective and organized. And now the best part of the day-enroute to the British Museums, I come across Dorothy Perkins-An impulsive buyer all my life, I head straight to the accessories section, then clothes, then cosmetics and then another, till I finally get to the shoes section..try out some 8-10 pairs of boots till I pick up one that we both seem to like.So that’s how Ria Mukherjee ends up purchasing her 1st pair of knee high boots that she is going to be very proud of all her life. Shopping done,burnt a hole in Amits pocket, day made! :) Later we catch a quick dekko at the museum for about 10 mins before it shuts shop. Very hungry by now, we stop at a pretty lil café called ‘Munchkin’ for some fish an chips and whiskey before we head home to Anu-Pallavi’s again.

10th Dec-Today is technically our last day in London, so we decide to make the most of it. We start early today from Greenwich again this time. I was glad that we came to this side of the town during the day and got up close and personal with the Prime Meridian. Ah bliss! We are joined by Amit’s friend-Dahiya, who happily takes us around. So here we are going click click click on the streets, stopping over at subways, McDonalds, the Thames , the nearby bookstore(from where I picked up The Golden Notebook) and then head towards the National Maritime Museum and the GMT. En route I go click click click at the famous Trinity College of Music! Where I once dreamt of being admitted! But fine, I was having fun and that was important! Some more walking and hot dogs later we reach Covent Garden- one of my most favorite places in London, known for its quaint charm and piazzas. Shopping at The Body Shop, Disney’s (bumped into Ayesha Dharker) and then watching 2 very entertaining street performances, we finally went home, had dinner and sat for wat I was looking forward too an unending chat session with everyone all night long. We discussed life, love, fate, faith, food, fantasies an lots more till we finally hit teh wee hours of morning

11th Dec- I woke up fairly somber, trying to live up every lil moment left in the trip. We chat, we eat, we shop, we pack and finally its time to go. Back to Muscat, back to reality and we bid adieu to London-The city which enamoured me right from my childhood, the city I only dreamt of visiting, the city that pulls me so close that its difficult to let go, the city that I just cant get enough of.

Our trip has come to an end and I am badly hung over….even after 2 months!