Wow. Did that really just happen?

Another photo from Nick Krug of the Lawrence Journal-World

What a finish! How about that Mario Chalmers? Oh, how I wish I could skip work today and head to Lawrence. Check out downtown last night after the game (courtesy of Mike Yoder from the Journal-World):



I better start booking next year's trip to Europe during March Madness. We wouldn't want to end this streak, now would we?

Perfect end to a perfect vacation

Well kids, I couldn't be happier.

OK, maybe if the Jayhawks pull of a win against Memphis. But even if they don't do that, last night's Roy Williams ass-kicking was a fine way to end this time off. I am a happy, happy girl.

The above photo was taken by Nick Krug of the Lawrence Journal-World. I have to wonder. Which is worse, the expression on Roy's face, or that tie? Jeez, tough call.

And I gotta say, I'm now done with the Roy hatred. That game settled it, and I'm happy to let him go on living his gosh-darn lifestyle however he pleases. It's been a fantastic vacation. Yes, it has.

Back home

I've been taking it easy back at home, trying to catch up on my sleep. Jamie and I did make it out to the Vampire Weekend show last night, which was fun (but short). I'm going to end this with a few snippets that didn't make it into the blog. I'll see you all back at work next week. Sigh.

•••

So I'm at a market checking out some magic toys for possible gift ideas when a complete stranger (duh) approaches me and tells me that I am the whitest person he has ever seen. "Any whiter and you would be a ghost, my dear!" Um. OK? Lemme say, I know I am pretty darn pale. But the palest person in London? Really? Get me to the mystic tan.

•••

Before I boarded my plane from Minneapolis I met this wonderful older woman from London. She comes to Des Moines every year for the winter to take care of her elderly aunt. She had long white hair and a nose ring and fabulous jewelry. Anyway, she was warning me about how the food is so different over in the UK. She said she likes the food in the U.S., and she said she always misses the pancakes when she goes back to London. She said that the Brits just can't seem to get pancakes right. I thought that was funny, since pancakes are pretty simple.

Well on my second day in London, I saw this huge line of people around a food cart. In fact, I took a photo.



Can you read the sign? Pancakes and Orange Juice. And look at the line! So I headed over to see the British pancakes and to get an idea of how they are different from ours back in the states. Well you know what? They aren't pancakes! They are crepes. YUM. so I got one with Nutella and bananas -- my favorite.

Anyway, so I guess maybe you can't get proper pancakes in the UK? Or maybe the woman at MSP just doesn't like crepes? I dunno, but I was pretty pleased with them...

•••

LESSON ON THE TUBE

It's Friday night. I'm heading back to the dorm on the underground after a night out. Suddenly the crowd standing behind me all push in front of me to stand in the middle of the train. I turn around and some poor guy is puking in the corner of the train. Oy.

We all move forward to give the guy some space. We pull up to the next station, and the doors open. Well, since it's Friday night, the trains are pretty crowded. And there's a bunch of people crowded on the platform ready to push their way onto the train. Do you see where this is going?

So the doors open, the sick guy turns to exit the train, and (wait for it) ...
pukes all over the crowd who are all dolled up for the evening pushing their way onto the train. Lesson of the day? Stand back from the doors and let the folks on the train exit. You never know what will greet you if you don't.

Springtime in London

So my last morning in town I had about an hour to kill before heading to Heathrow. My hotel was located across the street from a park, Russell Square, the University of London and the British Museum. It was a beautiful morning out, sunshine and 50 degrees, so I thought I would just grab my camera and walk about for a bit.

Everything seemed so green there, and lots of things were blooming. Above is a tree in the park that I shot. But I also saw some magnolia trees in bloom and loads of flowers popping up. It will be at least a month before we get to see such sights back home in the frozen tundra.

Now THIS is what newspaper websites should be doing

This has nothing what-so-ever to do with my trip and everything to do with the Kansas Jayhawks -- which a majority of you don't care about. Sorry for the interruption. But for those of you who do care about my Jayhawks, (Hi Derek!) check this out. This is the most fun thing I've seen a newspaper website do.

Last night in London

Let me say this, my hotel during this last jaunt to London might not have the best internet options, but my God is it fancy. It was built in 1900 (I believe) and that's the outside of the building in the photo above. Really breathtaking. And then the rooms inside have been completely redone and are gorgeous and modern and, as the Brits would say, just fab. It's a pretty big step up from the dorm.

On my last evening in town, I wanted to go and get souvenirs/gifts for folks. I had been putting this off as I didn't want to lug any extra stuff around all this time. But by the time I got back from Dublin, checked into the hotel, freshened up and got out the door, it was 6:20 p.m. And one thing that I hate about London? The shops all close at 7. You might find one or two open until 8, but it's a rare thing.

So I booked it down to Covent Garden and Soho, but sure enough the shops were closing. It was a complete bust. So please forgive me if I don't have treats for everyone upon my return.

But I will say that it was nice just to be in Soho with the whole evening in front of me and nothing that I had to do. Most of my time in this part of town had been spent frantically searching for art supplies or internet cafes. But not that night.

So I just walked and window shopped. I stopped at this place called Gabys near the Leceister Square station (pronounced Lester Square. I know.) and got a Falafel to go. It was DELICIOUS. I just strolled around Soho eating the best falafel I have ever had and people watched. It might have been my favorite time of the trip. Funny, I know.

It was a gorgeous night -- probably in the 50s -- and the streets were full of young, happy people. As I was finishing up my sandwich I stumbled upon this fantastic little shop that was still open. It was called 52 Greek St. (that's also the address). It had vinyl records laid into the floor and it had all these really funny screenprinted t-shirts and all kinds of cool clothes.

I walked in and was greeted by the owner. I was telling him how much I loved his shirts and he said that he designed them himself. He comes up with all the designs and has them made, and he doesn't sell them anywhere else. I tell you, I could have spent a fortune in that store. Sadly, I only had about 50 pounds left when I arrived, and I needed to save some of that for my train ticket to Heathrow the next morning. So I had to just pick two shirts. One for Jamie and one for me. But if you people are ever in London, GO THERE. A fantastic little boutique. And not too pricey!

After getting my shirts (which I was thrilled with), I headed out to see some music. I ended up catching the Tube to the northern part of the city (which I hadn't explored much) to this club called Dublin Castle. There were four bands playing that night. My favorite was a group called The Strays.

This club was much more low key than Madame JoJos and the crowd was more like one you would find at the 400 Bar. Which felt a little homier, but the people watching wasn't nearly as great. Anyway, good music. Cheap pints. All-in-all, a great way to end my stay in London.

Please pardon the delay

Sorry for the lapse in posting. The travel between Ireland and London was tougher than expected, and my hotel in London doesn't have a wi-fi connection. I guess I shouldn't say they don't have one. More like I refuse to pay 80p a minute for service.

Anyway, I did not have enough time in Dublin. I wish I could have stayed on at least one or two more days. I didn't make it to the Natural History Museum (although it sounds like it might be closed...) or to some of the other sights. But it was still a fantastic time.

The size of Dublin is perfect for just taking long walks and exploring on my own. The only disappointment thus far has been the horrible selection of record stores. They have a lot of them, but there seems to be not much of a selection inside the stores (unless you are REALLY into U2, the Cranberries or the Beatles).

The photo at the top is just something I saw on the street. I loved the old sign.

I'll post more tomorrow about my last day in London. Promise.