Day 26

Well, today, Sunday, started out at 12 a.m.  I waited for bus 242 to take me from Hackney towards Tottenham Road to go to The Bathhouse where my friend Marc was working the door.  I had unfortunately had to cancel on him previously for a Sunday party because it was the first weekend of catching a nasty cold.  Once on the bus, it took a wee bit to get to my destination, or bus stop to get off.  Now once I was off the bus, I got completely turned around and ended up walking for like 30-45 minutes in the cold night.  Once I finally caught I cab, the driver told me that I was almost at my destination.  He so kindly drove me the block and a half and didn't charge me any fare.  I think I got to the club around 1:30 a.m.  FINALLY!

Knowing that the location was open until 4 a.m. I wasn't so worried, but Marc didn't think I was going to show.  I couldn't come all the way to London and not see him knowing he was here.  I was great to see him and after about 10-15 minutes chatting outside, he took me downstairs to the least crowded bar area.  We had a few drinks and he needed to get back to work.  He left me with some drink buttons, yes buttons not tickets, and I made friends with the bartenders.  I also ended up chatting with a very nice bloke who often visited the States for work.  We decided that we would exchange flats whenever one of us wanted or needed to travel.  LOL. 

I got quite tipsy and even a little drunk but enjoyed watching the younger crowd enjoy themselves to the 50s and 60s American music.  They were having a great time and it was fun to watch.  I ended up back in the smaller, less crowded bar for a final drink and still had a drink button left.  So I walked over to my new friend and asked if he wanted a drink and gave him the button.  I think he was impressed that the American girl had the hook up on free drinks and that the button worked.  You know, at almost 40, I still got it and the hook up when I travel.  LOL.  This sister doesn't mess around when it comes down to drinking.  LOL. 

After the club closed, I made my way back to the door and said goodbye to Marc and hopped back on bus 242 back to Hackney.  I got home around 5 a.m., washed the face and crawled into bed only to wake four hours later.  Wide awake, I basically sat around the rest of the day not doing much.  When it was time for lunch, I got dressed, grabbed some study material, and headed down to a local pub where they have the best chips ever.  I sat down, read what I needed to read and ate my chips with a non-alcoholic ginger beer.

The rest of the day was spent watching t.v. shows on my laptop and being lazy.  Joe got back from the States earlier that morning and popped over with baby Elliott to check in on me and talk about the upcoming week.  Grabbed some Indian food for dinner, barely ate any of it, crawled into bed and was probably asleep by 10 p.m. if that.

Tomorrow, Monday, I will slowly make my way back down to Central London for some final shopping (gifts) and see whatever else I need to see.  Maybe the Tate Modern and the Globe but that's about it.  I'm pretty much done and unfortunately won't be able to make the Jack the Ripper tour.  Oh well, I've had a most amazing time here thus far and am excited yet sad to leave London.  I love it here and the people that I've met are amazing and just the kinds of people I like to be surrounded by.

So now I wake for my Monday travels.  See you on here again later tonight.

Cheers.