Dearest Dan,
Today was so much fun! I can tell that both you and I are falling for
London! Today, I was all speedy this morning to get ready so we could head out
for the day! Due to a big biking event in London, most bus stops and roads were
closed. Nonetheless, thanks to your most excellent navigation skills, we moved
around London seamlessly. I really liked the borough and neighborhood we are
staying in. If it weren’t for East Dulwich, we wouldn’t have gotten to see the
very ghetto-ized and yet diverse neighborhoods on the bus to and from downtown.
We also wouldn’t have had many important conversations about race,
assimilation, cultural hegemony, a culture of poverty, immigration, and so much
more. Even after 10 years, I am still learning from you every time we talk
about the world we live in. We saw Kentucky Halal Chicken and Tennessee Fried
Chicken. We saw Cameroonian restaurants next to Bangladeshi fruit shops. And we
saw it from on top of a double decker bus!
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Our views from the top of the bus! |
This always made me feel as
though we were going to run into a street lamp or smoosh a car in front of us!I
enjoyed going, “Wheeeeee!” from up there with you!
Once at Trafalgar Square, we walked and walked and walked. We walked
through the National Portrait Gallery and to the British Museum to see the
famed Rosetta Stone there. Such amazing history captured on one collection of
minerals! It was so packed, crowded, and hot that I overheated and soon it was
time to go! I suppose that’s how they make the museums free – no air
conditioning!
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Exciting happenings at Trafalgar Square |
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Ernest Shackleton at the National Portrait Gallery! |
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This is where I was dilly-dallying most of the time at the museum! |
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I see you in the stone! |
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I also see a gazillion others! |
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The beautiful British Museum interiors |
Once out and in some fresh air, this kid’s body needed food and a kald
drikke (we still <3 you Norway!)
quickly! We were both on the same page and found a traditional pie and potato
parlor suitable for our vegetarian tummies! Mother Mash was all it was
pegged to be by Yelp! Still, hot inside, two bottles of ice-cold ginger beer
and delicious pot pies with mashed potatoes and gravy were just the remedy I
needed!
Platform 9 and ¾ was next! 30 minutes in a line and 20 quid to get a
picture? No thanks! Instead, I let my imagination take me on Hogwarts Express
and let some Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans get stuck in my
teeth. Thanks for indulging me, Dan, and making this extra trip to Kings Cross for
me : )
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The original (not!) |
Then, we walked and walked and walked some more! With some tube
interludes (peppered with some superb street performers – Vansh, we keep
thinking of you!) – we wound up at Brick Lane.
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Fast, efficient, and poetic public transportation! |
I was talking to Mummy when I
said to her that every street name is written in English and in Bangla – it
turned out it was Little Bangladesh! The smells of South Asian food guided us
to the Sunday Brick Market we were in search of. We thought we were just going
to take a peek at what was inside a warehouse, but it turned out we were right
at the entrance of the market! Hipster, vintage, punk, hippie, wannabes – there
was plenty to ogle and gawk at. And so much to relish! There were over 30
stalls of street food and both of us simultaneously wished out loud that we had
an extra digestive system handy. It was a fun fun excursion, and then once
again, we were lost!
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Amazing choices! |
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Fun street art |
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Live Art |
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Yeah! |

You have become the most excellent Google Maps reader, Dan! You
navigated us through the hipster streets of Shoreditch to Liverpool Street
where we met kind and waiting Ridhi and Hanna! We met Ridhi after 7 whole years
and Hanna for the first time! There was much catching up to do and they had the
perfect plan to support catching up – a byob Vietnamese restaurant! The food
was hot, delicious, fresh, and quick! Our time together ended with a pint in a
beer garden and more memories made! Like you said, serendipity has been on our
side – if it wasn’t for our blog and social media, Ridhi wouldn’t have known we
were in the U.K. If it wasn’t for planning to meet with them, we wouldn’t have
known about the Sunday Market (thanks, Ridhi and Hanna! : ). And if we hadn’t
met them – we wouldn’t be closed to equipped for our upcoming Barcelona
adventures (once again, thanks Ridhi and Hanna! : ) I first met Ridhi when she was
in 11th standard! She’s now midway through her PhD. Time does play
funny tricks sometimes.
Once again, we called it an early night, though with all the action
going on in the bar below us (even on a lazy Sunday night at 10:30pm) and the
hot hot room – I might be a squiggly monkey of a sleeper tonight! We’ll see!
See you in my dreams,
-Suparna
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