Tühja sest reisist endast või kogemustest, mis ammutati, pilti tuleb teha võimalikult palju ja võimaluse korral nii lennujaamas kui ka lennukis. Jäi esimene kahe silma vahele, siis teeme teist topelt:
“Kas see jalavahe enam väiksem ei saa olla?”:
“Tegelikult… peaaegu nagu esimene klass”:
Üks punkt siiski Eesti kasuks: virtuaalreaalsus aitab ületada generatsioonipiire:
My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer,
A-chasing the wild deer and following the roe -
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go!
Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birthplace of valour, the country of worth!
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.
A nice bunch of Victorian names, aren’t they? While the latter was one of the founders of the British Museum (Natural History) which was later turned into the Natural History Museum, the first two gave their names to the real British museum, known today by the abbreviation V&A. There was a surrealist exhibition there but Gustav encountered a really surreal experience in a hall of Renaissance Italian statues instead. Not all of the figures there were made of rock (granite, marble or whatever) nor were dead:
Can you tell the real emotion from the fake?
Wouldn’t that be a surreal yet real experience if this was a real anaconda who swallowed his tail and rolled around in the courtyard and scared off the pigeons (and probably people a s well):
Better get the coaches and carriages out of the way:
If Gustav spoke more fluently by now, he’d say: “Mummy, this is my third time here, I’m really sick and tired of posing in front of your beloved coelacanth, do it yourself!”
And a special hint for auntie-Ave and all the other scouts-at-heart if she or any one of them would consider spending some quality time in London:
After such a hard day everybody needs a stiff drink (and daddy and his colleagues sure had some):
There was this wicked man who taught Gustav how to drink (orange juice, of course, at this stage) out of wine glass with using just one hand:
The trainee mastered the art quite soon quite well:
Then there was this nice man, doctor-to-be, who took Gustav as a guinea pig to his lab to test his brain:
Even though Gustav was not alone, no bells were ringing:
Gustav just had to stare at the screen and listen to some really funny noises:
What will be the result of this experiment, remains to be seen and heard. And as to the Jekyll&Hyde story, no clue…
As London resident Kalm managed to convince everyone that Portobello was crap we headed to Camden (where he most conveniently lives). The market was definitely more crowded and just the look of it took the juices out of the smallest of us:
What a joy to wake up and consume some real juice:
And there sure is a nice canal which Notting Hill does not have a match for:
To be able to walk is also fun (or not, Mari-Liis?):
The greatest entertainment of the day was the swing though:
And the other pleasures that come with it:
And another one:
But to see it all on the grass-root-level on Primrose Hill was also an experience:
“Are we going yet?”
“It’s all fine and so on… but are we going yet?”
For the long Easter-weekend we had the honour of welcoming good friends in our humble apartment. Gustav was really excited to get up, close and personal with little Marta:
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a genuine British gentleman appeared (in front of a “genuine” nature morte):
Time to do some touristy stuff again, but first decide, where to go (take notice: the young man formerly known as a genuine British gentleman is just an ordinary bloke from Manchester… er… Tallinn!):
And the vote goes to… taking some really CUTE pics of nice-looking tourists in front of Tower Bridge:
Well, other tourists, why such long faces?
After you’ve been there for several times you discover that the infamous Charlotte Street does have an end. It was already the second time we were knocking on the Roka‘s door and this time, thanks to Priidu‘s undeniable charm we got a table (promising we’d leave in 1,5 hours but actually stayed for more like 2,5). The food was excellent, of course. But the table-service was just exquisite. And the design was not too bad either, huh?
Gustav got his own bowl of rice to play with:
To get the load off our chest (i.e stomach) we had to take a walk in Soho (where daddy and Priidu knew nothing of the clubs!) and while doing so take some real tourist-snaps in front of the flashy Piccadilly billboards:
Then continued with a not-quite-it Pimm’s at Sasha’s. While Helina was trying to be supportive, the guys were just fighting over Nintendo DS Brain Training:
It’s never too early to make plans for the future. Better early than never, somebody in the family should pursue an academic career! Gustav is losing no time and already sorting out the possibilities: it’s either Cambridge or The Other Place. Starting at King’s College:
Cambridge has the greenest grass but in Pembroke College, which has the youngest prime minister Great Britain has ever had, William Pitt the Younger, among other more or less known alumni (the latter would get a bench with their name on it if they are lucky enough to die young), you might even be allowed to not only step on it but even play petanque-alike games like these two chaps (who looked a bit old to be undergraduates):
The dorms do not look half bad. Nevertheless, doors close at 11 in the evening, so no late night debate-clubs nor lab-dates:
But could they ever ban drinking on premises? Doubt it!
As it is his new habit in London, Gustav picks up friends in restaurants. One more down at a Mediterranean place in Soho, a Turkish guy called Ali:
But old mates cannot go unmet either. Gustav paid a visit to Eiliki’s new home in Camden. While she was having a quick meal, Kusti – not surprisingly – as a real bloke took interest in familiar Wii-remotes:
Afterwards there was enough time to scare Eiliki by trying to lean on her, take her toys and have a sip of his own:
The weather was brilliant for a long walk in the all-in-blossoms Regent’s Park just around the corner from Eiliki’s house:
A true gentleman masters fine arts and has many other virtues. To make a lady happy he should…
… be fond of ballet (but not really be a Rudolf Nurejev):
… take her to parks (preferably at sunset) and bring flowers (never carnations!):
… be able to play on a (musical) instrument:
… know how to dress for the weather and the occasion:
… and enjoy a nice bath every now and then:
