BYOI (Bring Your Own Indian)

It is a real relief that the friends we have hosted are interested in the local London experience, they are easy to please, and they are also self-sufficient enough to find their own trouble when we have to be at work. It’s been fun to pretend that we aren’t far from home as we enjoy the company of familiar folks — sharing meals, dodging rain drops, laughing at ourselves, catching up, exploring…. It wasn’t long after Megan landed that I begged for color guard news and stories. Not only is she witty, brilliant, and fun, but she is also a link to another world and that piece of myself that still desperately wishes color guard was a viable full time job. Though I could have asked her a million questions about how all of those peeps are doing, I reminded myself that this is her vacation, heheh!

(Oddly enough, though Megan had not met Drew before this trip, she is now connected to Drew on two fronts as several of Drew’s former echo colleagues are now colleagues of hers. Nashville is a big small town. Make sure you good people introduce yourselves to this little lady.)

Friday night we took our easy-going guest to a very small end-of-echo-in-London dinner in Ealing. Ade and Mel are so well known by the owners of their local Indian restaurant that tables were quickly arranged outside for us and the staff stayed very close at hand the entire evening. We had to bring our own wine (and our own Indian — how did that joke get started Janita?!), but the food was absolutely beautiful.

We made it a late night by heading to Ade & Mel’s for a sniff of something out of the decanter (yes, John, I said the decanter…no, not me; I didn’t go near Queen Victoria’s decanter!).

Saturday Megan and I wandered through Portobello Road Market.

There is not really any way to describe how many other people weaved through the stalls with us or how many treasures were for sale. I could hardly believe my eyes when I caught site of these little guys sitting on a clearance table!

Imperfect, yes, but more perfect for being so.  They match my incomplete, imperfect set.

After I twisted Megan’s arm to purchase a sundress and matching beaded shoes, we took a long walk to a nearby tube station with a stop at Liquid Nation.

If you find yourself near Ladbroke Grove, stop in! Later that evening Drew and I introduced Megan to Inamo, a restaurant that we visited with our first house guests, Pinky and Laura. I can’t wait to take my sister and brother-in-law. Richard will most certainly appreciate the coolness that is pan-asian-fusion-cusine and techno-dining.

So, maybe the night ended with hot chocolate and a trip to Octopus. What’s so wrong with that?

You should go ahead and start a visiting-Drew-and-Jen-in-London fund.  I know you are jonesin’ to be featured here…