Lots o' the Londish

Eddie Izzard says he is from England, "You know, where the history comes from." He's right. It's not that the United States doesn't have history. We have it, but it's kinda nouveau. Yesterday, I went here:

The U.S doesn't have bridges like that. That is the Tower Bridge, which leads to the Tower of London, which has lots of history. Before I got there, I stopped on the bridge and did this:

I had to because a dozen years ago I came here with students and some of us did handstands together on this bridge, and I wanted to pay tribute to that day long ago and to the fact that it inspired a line in my book about the students doing handstands on the Tower Bridge. This is for you, Matt and Drew. (I gotta say, my form is pretty good for an old broad. Yoga pays off.) Here is just one view of the Tower of London:

The place creeps me out a little due to the executions that happened there and also the lions who once guarded the gates. I am getting better about dealing with dogs. Big cats, not so much... not even their memories. The Tower is old London, for sure. Here are some shots of new London:

The above is an area under a bridge near The National Theatre where kids skate, bike ride, and skateboard and do all their crazy tricks. If you walk a little further, you come across an outdoor market on the Thames, which sells things like this:

Gone are the days of just meat pies. OMG but the butternut squash/bean pie and the spinach/mushroom pie--to die for. And, of course, if you really want to experience the quintessential outdoor London market, then you must go to Notting Hill and walk around the Portobello Market. Here it is:

It was super crowded and made me a bit cranky. (I know...I have no right to be cranky in Notting Hill, the poshest place on the planet, but I was. All I bought at the market was a t-shirt of The Dude. I mean it; that is what I got. Because it was only 5 pounds and it is cool. You will see it when I wear it at my book signing party this spring.) When I finally made it home today, one of the dogs was up on the table. It made me laugh. Here he is: