London, Day 14, June 30, 2007

Saturday, one final day of nothing but fun, and tomorrow, home again!

This was a great day, that De and I spent together by ourselves, with nothing on the agenda but what we truly wanted to do, slowly, taking out time and having fun.

First we had breakfast in the dorm cafeteria, as usual, and fortified ourselves for the walking to come. Then, finally, I got to do what I really, really wanted badly to do, which was head to Charing Cross Road and visit the bookstores, but mainly Murder One, the prime crime bookstore in London. I bought 17 books, and felt much better right away. All the aches and pains of two solid weeks of lectures just melted away, book by book. Ahhhhh, the satisfaction. Among the books I bought was the classic 84 Charing Cross Road, which I intend to start, at least, on the plane to New York tomorrow.

When we came out of the bookstore, we realized that there were several theaters on that street, as well as bookstores. We looked at the posters and decided to see if they had tickets for this evening for The Letter, a play based on a story by Somerset Maugham. They did, and we bought them. The play begins at eight, so we have to get going if we're going to get anything else done during the day.

After the bookstore, we decided to go to the Tate Britain. We took the tube for a little, then got off and started walking. It would have been a very pleasant walk were if not for the fact that it started pouring. This was the only time, really, that we got absolutely soaked to the underwear. I wouldn't have minded so much if we hadn't had so much rain for the whole two weeks, and also we then had to be inside an air conditioned museum in wet clothes. But we didn't let anything dampen our spirits. We pressed on, got to the Tate, took off our outer garments and had the coat check people hang them to dry, and proceeded to walk around the museum.

De, in her infinite wisdom and preparedness, had reserved lunch in the restaurant. We went first to see the Turner exhibition, which was really great. It was so nice to be able to walk around and enjoy something without having to take notes and write all about it. I will say only that we filled our eyes with beauty, read lots of captions, stood around, walked around, and just soaked it all up.
Then we headed to the restaurant and had a very nice and fairly light lunch. The best part, though, was yet to come. Those who know me know that I came to England with one very specific goal: to have a real English tea with scones and clotted cream and jam. Well, until today this supposedly simple pleasure had been denied me. But, the ever resourceful De had noticed that they served tea at the Tate.

So, after lunch we wandered around some more, saw some more art, and finally went back to the restaurant where the waitresses were kind enough to give me two scones instead of one, since I had come from so far away to enjoy this mid-afternoon treat. And what a treat it was!!! It was the tea of my dreams. Clotted cream, jam, delicious scones, and a nice pot of tea just for me, which they refilled as well! In a word, HEAVEN.

After the museum, we went back to the dorm to rest and freshen up briefly before heading out again to the theater. Back to Charing Cross Road we went, and watched an enjoyable performance of The Letter. A woman kills a man, her husband believes her implicitly when she tells him the victim had tried to rape her, an investigation and a trial ensue. She is acquitted. And only after it is all over, because of a letter with which she is blackmailed, does the whole sordid truth come to light. The man she killed was her lover for years, but had discarded her in favor of a Chinese woman who was (dare I say it?) OLDER than he!!! Well, as we all no, hell hath no fury... and so, his fate was sealed. The cuckolded husband, however, takes her back, and her penance is that she will be a good and faithful wife to the end, though still in love with the man she killed. A good yarn, all in all.

After the theater, back to the dorm and to bed. For tomorrow, we fly home, home to New York, where my new house awaits, and where I will sleep for the very first time!!!

To all my friends and loved ones, goodnight!