Local

My London weekend honestly felt like I weekend here in London every Saturday & Sunday; London is starting to feel like a second skin. She's familiar in a way that I spoke of Paris a few months ago. She gets me. And I think I'm starting to figure her out too.

It was a wonderful Hennigan weekend in that I got to spend a lot of time with my buddy Brian and his 8-month old daugther, Tess. Brian's wife Kristen was away for a weekend "hen-do" (bachelorette party for those logging language differences), so he was on his own for the first time and asked for company. Daughter in tow, we had an awesome time both days!

On Saturday, we loaded the pram and hit the South Bank to enjoy the sun, waterfront, and people watching. Will I confess to stops @ pubs along the way? Oh, yes, I will! Both times, we were able to catch prime spots to check out all of the passers-by... and turns out, for all of them to catch Tess as well! On a historical note, one of the pubs at which we enjoyed a fine frosty beverage was The Anchor. While I was only inside to order a pint, do you see, Avid Reader, the year of construction of this watering hole? That's right... 1615. For those keeping score at home, that's a full 161 years before our country was even founded! One has to appreciate a 400-year-old speakeasy. Oh, if walls could talk!

Sunday was a bit more of the same. And if by that I mean more time with Brian & Tess, more sunshine, more waterfront and more adult beverages, then, of course!

After bolting from Picadilly and the mayhem that was the Asics 10K Fun Run, we loaded up the pram from the Hennigans and ventured out to Richmond -- also on the Thames -- to enjoy a pace even a bit more slow (if you consider that I fell asleep while Tess was getting her evening bath and Brian konked out during the World Cup semifinal match, then Sunday was VERY slow... and awesome). It's amazing what one can accomlish when you set out the following objective for the day: Enjoy German food & beer. :)

After enjoying time on the riverwalk, we arrived at our destination: Stein's. Otherwise known as Sausage Heaven! We ordered up a platter of sausages & cheeses, enjoyed several steins of delicious nectar of the German gods, and did more people watching. Of course, Tess was yet again a huge draw and we became friends with various sets of tablemates with whom we shared our afternoon (we were there a while such was the joy of Stein's)!

With mother hen back at the nest from her hen-do, however, Brian & I ventured back to Putney where we got to hear all about the ladies weekend in Brighton and give a play-by-play of Tess' weekend (no one has to know we basically did a pub crawl, right? I love England!). After catching up, I caught the tube back into the city and joined my buddy MattBaker who turns out had just arrived for the week. It was a pleasant surprise for sure as Matt's one of my favorite people on the planet as well as an amazing travel buddy (Ireland 2007). We were able to catch the World Cup final at King's Arms nearby with a wonderfully colorful crowd, not to mention frosty, cold 1664s.

All in all, a most excellent weekend. One that I likely would have had anywhere in the world, it was so "normal". Yet so special in that it included the Hennigans, MattBaker, waterfront strolls in this amazing summer, shared stories old, and memories new that will forever bring a smile to my face.