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Friday was my last full day in London. In the morning my brain suddenly kicked into gear and I ended up cramming several days of stuff into 12 hours.

First I went shopping in Oxford Circus. (More stuff for my wonderful sister who will cat-sit for me once again when I go to Korea at the end of the month. Also I shrank one size from ten days of healthy living in Bristol haha.)

Then I had lunch with Harry near his office, a feat of scheduling. Harry’s weekdays are parceled out in 40-minute segments, like one half of a rugby match. He’s a. . .he’s a. . .he’s a yuppie. I always expect him to bring out a PowerPoint presentation on how he will achieve world domination. (I would begin by not revealing my schemes to the competitor. Who is leading the who-gets-recognized-in-public tally haha.)

Then I went to Kew Gardens, because I’d never been. It’s about an hour by train from the city center; some of my friends who have lived in London for a decade have never even gone there. The weather was perfect for walking among the trees.

There are birds and squirrels all over the place, and they’re so used to humans they don’t move away if you approach them.

When you visit Kew Gardens you have to spend the whole day. As Chronicler pointed out, Ents! (Did you know that J.R.R. Tolkien modeled Ent speech on C.S. Lewis?)

Six hours (inclusive of train rides) later I met up with Ryan and friends in town and we took the Underground to Claire’s house in Clapham.

Claire and Ryan have been colleagues and friends since they were in Kuwait in the 90s. That’s Ryan’s friend’s niece Kirsty, and that’s me looking zonked from fatigue, hunger and prolonged exposure to sunshine and fresh air. But the hair behaves properly in cold, dry climates.

Claire took us to Clapham High Street, which is lined with restaurants and bars of every conceivable persuasion and packed on a Friday night. We went to her favorite Indian restaurant.

London is teeming with Indian restaurants; this one gets rave reviews. We started with the best papadums I’ve ever tasted, then the English national food chicken tikka masala, balti beef, chicken biryani, and lamb chops masala. The food was so good I nearly ate myself into a coma. Seriously, if you’re in London, go. The prices are very reasonable. Go early, it gets full.

Back to Islington by 11 to pack for the flight home.