Monday, November 15ÄîThe phone woke us up shortly after 8:30Äîit was Tessa calling to confirm that she would pick us up at 2:15 to take us to the train station. Shortly after, we got up, showered and dressed (more hot water today than yesterday) and made oatmeal for breakfast in the flat. We then went to do the rest of our Cambridge shopping. I wanted to go to that wonderful music storeÄîBrian Jordan Music, where they tracked down some music for me that I haven’t been able to get in the states. I also bought various organ music–¬£100 total. George also found the crew neck wool sweater that he has been looking for. We carried out lunch from Pret a manger and took it back to the flat to eat. After lunch and getting packed up to go, we took a walk across Jesus Green down to the river. There are locks on the river and a bunch of bargesÄîsome looked like passenger barges.
Tessa picked us up about 2:20 and took us to the train station. She needed to go in to buy a ticket for herself for a trip later in the week, so we wished her goodbye in the station. We only had to wait a couple of minutes for the next fast train to London, which took a little less that 45 minutes. We came back to the hotel and put our stuff down. I wrote postcards to people in the states, although I’ll be home long before the card gets there.
At 4:30 my colleague from Kelvin Smith Library, Bill Claspy, came to meet us at our hotel and we went for a drink at a pub behind the Russell Hotel. Bill came over the same day we did (on Continental, not USAirways, so he didn’t have the problems we had). His sister and her family live in London now, so he was staying with them.
He had to get back to them for dinner, so we walked with him to the Holborn tube stop and said our farewells there. It was still too early for dinner, so we went and looked around in Foyles again.
We walked to Soho and had dinner at Kettner’s (allegedly Oscar Wilde’s favorite restaurant and now a Pizza Express in fancy dress clothes). We both had pizzaÄî”Fiorentino”, with spinach, black olives and cheese. It was pretty goodÄîI haven’t had pizza in quite a while because of my dietÄîand the waiter was attractive and attentive.
We had a leisurely walk back to the hotelÄîback a little before 10:00 and stayed in for the rest of the evening.