Saturday in London (in February)

OK, so if you're reading this in SoCal you may not think it sounds so great, but we're in a run of unbelieveable weather in London right now. Today it was in the low-50s and crystal clear. In early-February. It's amazing.

We got up and had breakfast, then walked up to Hampstead from our house. It was mild enough today to wear a t-shirt and a fleece pullover--no coat required. We went to a place we like called Carluccio's and had some pastries with amazing coffee, then walked up through the village and got a bus over to Finchley Road where the local Homebase is located.

Homebase makes me miss a real store like Home Depot.

I mean, the stuff they sell there is like toy tools. I can't imagine any of my tradesman friends and family being caught dead carrying the junk they sell. I'm a minister/historian and even I would be embarrassed to be seen with the paintbrushes they were selling. Seriously.

But back to our amazing day.

We had lunch at a Chinese place called The Green Cottage, which is owned by a member of the Chinese church that meets in our Sanctuary. We had crispy duck and chow mein, with a side of greens that were delicious. Nice.

We went home but Ian wanted to go ride his scooter, so I went out with him while Julie stayed home and read some Jane Austen. We went over to Primrose Hill, which is one of the really nice open spaces overlooking the entire city. There were about 200 people at the top, just milling around and drinking wine and looking at the view. That's where Ian is in the picture...looking so serious.

We rode down the hill and back toward home (still no coats, by the way). Ian got tired so we got on a bus where we ran into one of our neighbors (didn't hurt). We rode up to Belsize Park so Ian could get one last downhill before calling it a day. We stopped at a little bookstore and bought Ted Hughes' The Iron Man, which is the book that was adapted into 'The Iron Giant', one of the best animated films ever.

We're home now, getting ready to have dinner and watch Harry Potter 4. I just opened a window to get some cool air in here...in February.