The Trip:   Jake talked me into taking the Skybus to the airport.  He even dragged my suitcase across the city for me.   It eventually weighed in at the British Airways counter ay 20 kilos.  See...   I told you I was travelling light.    The flight across was pretty smooth in BA's big 747-400.   Unfortunately SeatGuru.com did not tell me that the seat located at 34K would not recline...  at all.   It was broken.   Strangely I still managed to get 9 hours sleep between Singapore and London.   I was a bit confused at Heathrow airport because the Tube station at terminal 4 was closed for work.  So I had to get the Heathrow Express to Terminal 1 and get the Tube to Earl's Court from there.

Earl's Court:    Andrew's place is in an amazing location!  Just a 3 minute walk to the train station and the main street of Earl's Court.   His place is just as messy as I remember it, except he lived somewhere else when I was here last.    It's a small flat made up of 2 rooms. a kitchen and a bathroom.   My bedroom is so much quieter then my own room at home...   and the train line is right outside the window!  I haven't worked out how to get net access here yet but will do that later.

Day 01 - London Calling:   We got cleaned up and headed up to Covent Gardens where we started walking for miles around all these windy streets.  I would have been completely lost without Andrew there.   We had breakfast in a cafe with lots of salon tanned gay staff.  I can't remember the name of it right now.   And then went and bought a shirt for Andrew.   I've noticed that the guys in the shops in the gay area are not very friendly.  Greeting the customer doesn't seem to happen much here.   Some of the shops were amazing.   Anyway, then we headed along the southbank to the Tate modern museum and wandered about in there for a couple of hours.   The day was a bit grey and cool, but was perfect for going on a long walk.   Then we had a late lunch on the steps of St Pauls with loads of other people.
One of our friends from Sydney (who lives here now) got us tickets to an invite only opening night for a club called the Shadow Lounge.   Performing there would be Beverley Knight and a boy group called Catch 22.   Both acts were pretty entertaining.   But not nearly as entertaining as my most spectacular entrance.   Of our small posse of 4 I walked into the dark crowded club first, and thinking I would take control of the group's direction I headed straight for the bar.   Spotting an open space I headed across the floor.   And half way across a raised part of the floor I tripped and fell face first to the floor...   of the raised stage in front of me.   I didn't lie sprawled out on the stage for too long.   But it was the highlight of the night for me....  oh...   and falling asleep standing up during the main performance.  It was a pretty good night.   I'm just having trouble adjusting the to the time right now.   It's 5am here now and I can' sleep.

Day 02 - Mr Sleepy:  I was a bit of a walking zombie today.  I ventured out to the inner suburbs of London to meet a guy who runs a huge website here in the UK.  It was a bit of a fishing trip to see what is involved in running a large scale professional site.  On the way back to the tube station I got quite lost and had to ask for directions.  The tube from one side of London to the other is so quick!   Afterwards Andrew and I went and checked out another museum.  A couple of years ago the government here made most of the museums free for the public to enter.   Then when is started raining we headed home.  I watched a bit of the UK Big Brother and then went to bed early.   If I can get a good night's sleep we will gym and head out to the Hoist on Saturday night.

Day 03 - Saturday in London:   Andrew took me along to his gym for a workout.  SOHO Athletic is at Covent Gardens, but we get off at Leicester Square because the Covent Gardens station is always so busy.  We had a pretty good workout and afterwards went to the Stockpot Cafe for lunch.   In the afternoon we went and checked out Oxford Street which was amazingly busy.   There was pushing and shoving to get into some of the big stores along there.  I bought a green t-shirt and a ridiculous tank top that I may never wear.  
So where did we head for Saturday night out in London?  Well the Hoist of course.  It was a really funny night.  The Hoist at Vauxhall has a very strict dress regulation code.   It was a skinhead night and everyone had to wear at least boots.  Andrew dug out some old boots that had the soles falling off and I wore his RM Williams boots which were way too big for me.  So both of u had to walk around precariously (is that a word?) all night.   The Hoist itself is a bit of a maze similar to Club 80 in Melbourne.   And through the maze there were stack of bizzare acts happening.  Eventually I found Andrew again and we left at about 2am.  If you get a chance to check out the Hoist make sure you check their website for the dress rules for each night...   they are very strict about it all.

Day 04 - Hyde Park:   After our night out at the Hoist we slept in and then hung out at Andrew's for a while.  Then Andrew took me across to see one of his favourite places in London...   Hyde Park.   There were so many people there walking, jogging, roller blading and picnicing.   We saw Elle McPherson walking with a group of people and I managed to get a quick snap of her (in the mustard scarf below).   Also we went and had a look at the Princess Diana memorial water fountain.  It's like a river running around a long circular channel.  There were loads of kids playing in it.   And after the long walk around we headed into SOHO to have some dinner and check out some of the sex shops in all the alleyways there.   There were some very strange characters hanging around there.

Day 05 - The London Eye:   I took Andrew to my gym chain which is also in Covent Gardens.  It wasn't nearly as good as the SOHO Athletic Club, but we had a pretty good workout before heading off with chocolate health bars in our mouths.  Then we spent the afternoon shopping along Oxford Street.  This time it was much less crowded and I got to buy some new jeans at Topman.   Then we walked for what seemed like a really long distance to the London Eye.   And can you believe we walked straight onto it?  No queues at all!   The trip was great and Andrew was pointing out some of the highlights of London including the free STD clinic at the Saint Thomas hospital.   We got stacks of great photos which I'll post up soon.   That night we met our friend Glen and headed over to the Colehearne Pub in Earl's Court for a few G&Ts before bed.

Day 06 - Bournemouth:   Today I headed down the coast to Bournemouth to a beach there with my new friends Nick and Ivo.   It was such a funny day.  It was not warm at all, but there were perfect blue skies.  So stupidly I didn't put on any sunscreen and got quite burnt.   When I was coming to London I hardly expected to end up at the beach.   Bournemouth is about a  2 1/2 drive south from London.  I'm spending tonight in bathed in sunburn cream.

Day 07 - Last Day in London:   I spent the morning tucked up in my tiny Earl's Court internet cafe fixing up the website and catching up with Jake.  Apparently he has already broken my computer at home.   Today was the warmest day since I have been here so I went out walking around Earl's Court.  And then later in the afternoon my friend Richard from America called to say that he was staying at a hotel on Hyde Park.  So I went over for a few drinks and a walk through the park.   And for my last dinner in London Andrew and I headed down to the Ask Pizza Restaurant in Kensington for pizza and beers.  Right next door is the amazing Holland Park park.   There are some really beautiful gardens and ponds through the park, and loads of rabbits and other creatures getting about in the wooded areas.   I suspect the area around the park is a pretty wealthy area when you see the big houses there.  Tomorrow we head for Berlin!

London Photos
 

The journey begins	Getting the Skybus to the airport	Piccadilly Circus	Andrew giving me a tour	First day in London...  I will photograph anything	This is where Andrew goes to school
A pub	Shopping with Andrew	Shopping	Covent Gardens tube station	I've forgotten where this is	Covent Gardens
Rules for marketers at Covent Gardens	Royal postcards	The Savoy	An amazing office block called the Adelphi	London cabs	Me on a bridge
Me taking photos from that bridge			London's beach
	The London Eye.  Going there later this week			The Tate Modern Museum
Millenium Bridge		Andrew at the Tate	In front of the Tate
	St Pauls			Andrew in the bushes
St Pauls		Andrew putting out the trash	Earl's Court	Another museum	Lost in the plastic trees
The museum library		The plaster cast gallery			Andrew takes a moment to think of something intelligent to say
		Liberty's Department Store	Andrew showing me one of his favourite hiding spots in Hyde Park		The lake in Hyde Park
That's Elle McPherson in the mustard scarf	Skaters and horses in the park
The Princess Diana memorial water fountain	Kids playing in the fountain	Fat lady dipping her toes in	Reminds me of Jamberoo Rec Park		Me in the bushes
SOHO	SOHO	The Shadow Lounge	SOHO Toy Store	Me on the tube	The London Eye
			Pics from the London Eye
Don't go if you don't like heights				Buckingham Palace in the distance
The Thames		Big Ben	Andrew getting ready to Vogue	Day at the beach at Bournemouth with Ivo	Gotta work on my tan
Our little street	Richard and I in Hyde Park	The speeding tube train on the Piccadilly line	Holland Park	Holland Park	Holland Park