young folks

i write this from the depths of a foot jungle. to my left: the feet of a frenchman who has obviously been running in dirt or the like. and to my right: the tiny feet of some girl who's stuffed her tiny chucks in her cubby hole above her head. i hate feet. but i digress, again...
tonight we were treated to a fabulous dinner at the home of my old friend dmitri's girlfriend marjan. roasted chicken, potatoes, salad and wine: perfect. it felt like one of the more grown up things i've ever partaken in. a very civilised night of quiet drinking, reminiscing and discussion. and after having a reflective conversation regarding life, careers and future plans with an international congregation of peers, i feel a lot less restless and more at peace with my own respective concerns. and i don't care how many museums, bridges or monumental feats of mankind i see on my international trip, it will probably be nights like this, filled with nothing significant except a pleasant meal and discussion, that resonate at the end of it all...
but we did also go to tate modern today, which was rather interesting. they had a surprising collection of roy lichtenstein pieces which were pretty amazing. not to mention the collection of videos showing naked dudes hitting themselves and other disturbing acts of self-degredation. so yeah, the whole spectrum of awesome to not so awesome. and it was all free. win!

i don't understand london though. it seems like a massive town to me, rather than a bustling urban metropolis with millions of inhabitants. after coming from massive cities like new york, it's weird seeing no skyscrapers and not really knowing where the city starts and ends. there are little enclaves everywhere with pubs, clubs, offices, shops and sites to see. i'm used to it being country --> suburbs --> city. but all i've seen here is (seemingly) a town. granted, i've only been here for a few days and i'm sure i have no idea what's going on. but there's no question that london is not built like sydney, or new york. not that there's anything wrong with that.

oh and the pies are great.