Hanging out with Alan in London

Alan came over to visit us on his way home to Sydney from Cleveland via Europe and Asia. He arrived at Heathrow on New Years Day a little earlier than expected, and had to wait about an hour for me to front up at the airport to pick him up (sorry Alan). We were still a bit bleary eyed from staying up at home watching the fireworks on the tele and a bit under the weather from the few quiet drinks with our housemates Tristan and Kelly and their friends Chris and Kim. Tam said she'd stay at home and tidy up a bit before Alan arrived, but I knew she just went back to bed.
It was so good to see a familiar face. We were both so happy and excited to see each other. Poor Alan's been living in semi-isolation in Cleveland since July. At least I've got Tammy here with me.

First stop was the London New Years Day Parade. We managed to get there after it had already started but we still managed to see some good stuff (like American school marching bands shipped over here directly from the good ol' US of A, a cavalcade of mini's and scooters, floats from all the Boroughs, and balloons).


Felix the Cat.


Itty, bitty, magical, and mysterious Beatles.


A very happy Alan taking snaps near Piccadilly Circus. We were able to spend a few days with him because of the holidays, but had to leave him on his own for a few bit while we went to work.


Tam and Alan at the New Years Day Parade with the Duke of York Memorial and Westminster Abbey in the background. Spot the famous celebrity from Toy Town.


Noddy, the little man with the red and yellow car (sadly, minus car).


The next day we took the tube over to Camden to wander around. But we didn't buy any records with that old motown sound (sorry, The Waifs just popped in my head). Took Alan over to check out the Camden Markets and we also introduced him to some fruity Fruli beer. Love those Camden Markets, although we still haven't bought anything from them yet. I think it's that whole Newtown/Enmore vibe that it got going on.

This is a statue of the famed detective of 221b Baker Street located just outside Baker Street Tube Station. We saw this the night I suggested we go exploring Wimbledon. Which kind of sucked as we didn't bring a map and didn't know where anything was and also because it was so dark and all the shops had closed already. Sorry. My bad.


Besides the Parade, we also did a bit of sightseeing and walking and eating out and drinking in pubs and at home. But mostly just chilling at home catching up and finishing up the bottle of Raspberry vodka Alan brought us (Tam's new favorite drink). The other cool thing we did with Alan was watch the Mary Poppins musical in the West End. I've always loved Mary Poppins as I grew up watching it (and Empire Strikes Back and Grease), and since we've been here in London, I've always wanted to go and watch it. It was a great show with great company and we had the best time. The cast and songs were good, and the sets were amazing (the best I've ever seen, with ingenious transforming capabilities), Bert (the chimney sweep guy) walked up the walls and upside down on the ceiling, and Mary Poppins could do magical things and even fly around the theatre. How's that for awesome? One of the best things we've experienced so far on our trip. Still have a smile on my face and songs in my head. It was SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!


These are all the good photos we took. You'll have to ask Alan to see his ones. He's already left and gone over to Copenhagen. We miss you already Alan. Thanks for coming over. We'll see you and everyone of you other guys soon!