London Towne

Most of you probably dont know that I am in London for work. It happened rather quickly… essentially with a weeks notice. During planning, I was asked if I had been to a particular site and I replied that the day I was supposed to go it snowed so bad the closed the M-5. ( & probably remember that day – I was supposed to meet them for dinner that night.) My colleague laughed and said I was crazy if I thought there would be snow this time of year. Sure enough, I step out of the airplane at Heathrow to a big snow storm. It must be me…

On a side note, I got bumped up to first class. Now thats the way to fly. They actually have a 5 minute video on how to use the seat. It rotates, converts to a bed, has an office area, and can turn into a helicopter. OK, so I exaggerate about the helicopter part, but not about anything else. Honestly.

The flight was a red eye, leaving RDU at 6pm on Saturday (thanks for taking me to the airport) and landing at Heathrow at 6am on Sunday. Took about an hour to get baggage and through customs, and another hour to get to the hotel (the Kensington Marriott). I get there and although they have my room ready, they are out of keys. They finally locate one and I crash until about noon. I get up, grab some grub, and head to the V&A. Due to a math error, called Nia and scared her due to the hour (addition, subtraction, its all the same.) Spent about an hour poking around and picking up some books, and then head back to the hotel to drop off the books (they were heavy) and off to Harrods. Had some amazing ice cream there, bought some Cognac from out of an oak barrel, and wandered around. They have an amazing selection of stuff, including quite the pet section, which I was surprised by.

Left Harrods and hopped on the tube (I bought an Oyster card as the Tube is my major form of transit), and went to Covent Garden. Wandered the stalls and saw a fantastic string quartet performing and bought a CD. Then wandered around Trafalgar, the West End and Chinatown before heading back to the hotel for a late dinner (mushroom risotto) and bed.

Next morning took the Tube to the corporate headquarters in London, and worked pretty much straight through until 6. Actually, most of the morning was spent sorting out logistical issues so we could start work. Nik had come in for two days and was staying at the same hotel as me, so we went and got him checked in and then headed to Chinatown for Malaysian food. Nik had spent several month in Malaysia and I essentially ordered what he had. Not exactly sure what it was but dam it was tasty and per Nik exactly what he ate while he was there. We then took a walk and settled on a pub where I lasted through one pint before jet lag took over. We tubed it back to the hotel, hung out a bit and sipped some cognac before Nik headed to the bar and I fell asleep.

Woke up at 3:30. Met Nik in the lobby at 7:15, he checked out and we headed back to HQ. Another day of working through lunch and until about half six. We realized we needed Nik for another day so he cleared it and booked another night in the hotel. Then Nik, Karl & I headed to a Tandoor restaurant which came highly recommended – and I can see why. Wow was it good & plentiful. Some of the best nan I have ever had. Karl took us back to the tube and Nik & I had some more cognac before both heading to our respective rooms for some shut eye.

Woke up at 4:30. Met Nik in the lobby at 7:15, he checked out and we headed back to HQ. We had both key vendors in for the day and finished up the work we had started on Monday, discussed issues we were seeing, talked about tactical and strategic solutions, and came up with a plan forward. By 4 I was brain dead, so called it early and headed to the Doctor Who exhibition at Earls Court. Tres kewl. Took a ton of pictures, was inside a Dalek, was inches away from Captain Jack’s coat and saw the bullet holes in the back. Was awesome! The gift shop was disappointing and they did not have the fob watch I was asked to get. The clerk told me to go to their main store on the strand so I scurried off to do just that, but they closed moments before I got there. So I spent the next several hours walking all over SoHo, the West End, Chinatown, Westminster, etc. Walked past the London Eye and there was no line so I went for it. Amazing! Had some sushi, and went to the hotel to crash.

Woke up by my alarm at 6:45 turned it off and suddenly it was 8:30. I was supposed to be on site at 8, so called Karl, grabbed a quick shower and headed to HQ. Met Karl and after a few short meetings we headed to the other site. Took about an hour to get there, and Dave was waiting for us. Got the tour (nice lab set up) and the headed to a very good Indian buffet. Worked straight through til 6:30, then hit Tesco for some of the items on my shopping list, and then Karl dropped me at the tube. I hot the hotel to drop off my bag and went to walk around and find a restaurant. Had an awesome dinner with some good Trapist ale at a Belgian restaurant. Then headed back to the hotel and wrote all of this up. Now its time to call and fall asleep for a few hours. Tomorrow I catch the train to the second site and hopefully actually make it there.