(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…

I have managed to keep the laundry at bay and cook meals that didn’t get scraped out the window or into the bin.  I also had lunch with Drew and Janita on Thursday at Wagamama. (I think I might compare it to Pei Wei, though it’s not quite the same.)  After lunch Janita and I inadvertently led Drew to an arcade in search of caffeine after our meal.  At least I got to show Drew my favorite store in London–Octopus.  Who needs any of this stuff?  And why do I want it so badly anyway?

What I didn’t do today was prepare the magic notebook, pack a contest survival bag, or copy an insane number of cds for a Field Day performance.  I did, however, let my thoughts drift off to those crazy folks who are doing those things.