Friday, October 21, 2011

Autumn in London

Almost three years ago, we took romantic walks every evening down the crowded streets of downtown Beijing in autumn.

Though the streets were quite as crowded this time, the walks were far from leisurely and resembled more closely desperate marathon runs down cobbled streets into dingy underground stations and up again. Far too many sights in Londontown to cram into the paltry space of a short week. Yet we managed to cover quite a bit from the grisly secrets of the Tower of London to the hushed halls of the National Gallery.

Hand-in-hand. Shoulder-to-shoulder. Though twice as hurried, I found it quite as romantic as our walks in Beijing. With my mother as an ever-present chaperone during the trip, it occurred to me that not recognizing our relationship for what it was had to be the severest form of denial. How could she not tell? Calvin and I were far from circumspect that's for sure.

Though we did refrain from any serious hanky-panky since the expeditious nature of our jam-packed sightseeing meant we were both dead tired by the end of the day.

Call!
What shall I read next?

All that art, culture and history crammed into the space of only two days had me blithely wondering how Charming Calvin was taking it. Never a big fan of reading himself - especially when it dealt with such interminably tedious topics, I guessed the sudden unwelcome onslaught of trifling British trivia must have been quite bewildering.

My ISO : So how is the boyfriend enjoying London?
Paul : Endless museums, galleries and bookshops? I have no idea. Shell-shocked possibly.
My ISO : I never could make much sense of all that dull information either.
Paul : Think all the tales of kings and queens from the different eras must be jumbled up in his muddled brain by now.
My ISO : William the Conqueror marrying six wives in time for the Great Exhibition of 1851?
Paul : Something befuddling like that.

At least I thought it would confound him. Calvin however seemed to take all that in stride.

Despite the hours spent browsing in the behemoth bookstore of Waterstone's Piccadilly, I don't think he was inspired to reexamine the overflowing glut of information shoved down his throat by our enthusiastic guides. Not a single book did he crack open! Instead our dauntless fellow spent the time reviewing the pictures he took of everything in sight from the awe-inspiring marble casts of Trajan's Column to the boisterous fruit vendors in Portobello Road Market.

Just a note though but have you guessed that I simply adore the bookstores in London?

5 comments:

MrBunnyBan said...

Here's the thing about women in general. More women are more socially competent or empathic than men. So one thing some mothers/wife try to do that fathers/husbands generally don't is play mind games.

She knows lar. By pretending not to know, it'd be easy for you to 'change your mind'.

Junn said...

hey, I just went at the beginning of autumn this year... a first timer at Tower Hill and losing mind looking for the Bridge Tower Experience as stated in my London Pass??? Great to see u have fun and i seconded Ban, she knows, man!

Now, you got to be worried?

GVP said...

Sounds like a blissful adventure there.

I don't think we have an issue with oblivion. If it is really denial that we are dealing with, then that is gonna be tricky. Perhaps, she needs more time until all the jigsaw pieces fit together. On a good note though, she seems to be accepting Charming Calvin, otherwise he or she would't be the companion in this trip.

matt said...

this is an interesting dynamic! did your mom invite calvin along, or di you and calvin invite your mom?

also, did your mom notice the "hand-in-hand. shoulder-to-shoulder"? i think that would be a big tip-off. i agree with the others--she knows, and she seems to like calvin anyway!

savante said...

Hope she's not wishing too hard since there are very few instances where I actually have changed my mind, Ban :P

Don't you love London in fall, Junn? Not worried exactly. More curious how she will react.

Just find it odd that she hasn't pieced it all together, GVP. It's really not that difficult. Even perfect strangers have guessed it right.

Think she probably noticed but dismissed it, matt.

P