This weekend in London is an ecstatic moment of travel serendipity, a confluence of wonderful happenings...one of those perfect moments in the life of a traveler when everything meshes in perfect harmony, totally unplanned and unexpected, like the second healthy baby of a pair of twins when the parents only expected one...like money falling from the sky...when you feel grateful and honored to be alive on this planet in this body at this exact moment in time...
Arrived at Victoria station last night, the grand central station of London, and was bombarded with the overwhelming power and majesty of the worlds most off the hook city...facking amazing is London, dripping with wealth and power...Joss and i took the double decker bus out of the city center, sitting top deck front row as the sun appeared for the first time in three weeks...London is Disneyland: palaces, mansions, coins worth their weight in silver...it's the whole world, every citizen of every nation can be seen negotiating the supremely crowded streets and subway system...Joss and i met her brother and friends for dinner and afterwards i went to North London to spend the night at a friends house. Samba from Senegal is a UK citizen and world traveler i met in California a few years ago...his house is directly across the street from the old stadium of the Arsenal Gunners football team...one of the most famous teams in the world...and thus kicked off one of the biggest sporting weekends in the history of London....
After three weeks of unrelenting rain, hail, snow and freezing winds, a British Isles nightmare winter/summer, today dawned balmy, sunny, and graced with marshmallow white clouds floating in the sky like cotton candy...perfect for tennis! The Wimbledon finals weekend...the most prestigious weekend in the tennis world...today Venus Williams goes for her fourth title and tomorrow Nadal and Federer will probably play in the final. But for me, today, there is something even better...
The Tour De France bicycle race starts today in London, the first time its ever started here. Today is a circular time trial race around Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, with each of the 189 riders setting off individually at one minute intervals. So today is all about the Tour De France. Tomorrow i will don my all-white African outfit and spend the day at Wimbledon wandering the hallowed grounds. Maybe get a ticket to see a match, maybe get a ticket to see the men's final?????? Could it be???? Tomorow is all about Wimbledon.
Also tomorrow is the British Gran Prix Formula One Motor car race. Normally, car racing does nothing for me, but rookie Lewis Hamilton is a 22 year old African-British citizen who is poised to win this years overall championship. He is being hailed as the new British Sporting superstar, and tomorrow he makes his British debut after taking America and the continent by storm. Also today is the Henley regatta, an ancient rowing race on the River Thames (pronounced Tems)...and tonight at the brand spanking new Wembly stadium is a huge benefit concert called Live Earth...
London is on high terrorist alert after all the bombings and bullshit last week...where money and politics and religion merge in an explosive cocktail called the 21st century....
Just another amazing weekend in an amazing city on an amazing planet in an amazing universe...be here now.
