A Nine Mile Walk, Greenwich, and Samuel Beckett

I finally got out of the city yesterday, and I didn't realize how nice it was until we walked off the train and I could inhale deeply without any fear of what I might be smelling - there are so many chemical smells downtown. I guess I'm truly not a city girl, because I've been living in one for less than two weeks and already I crave the quiet solitude of rural life. That or I'm just still adjusting to all the people, traffic, and jackhammers outside my window at two and three in the morning.

Elyse, Molly, and I went on a 9 mile country walk from Otford to Eynesford, which actually turned into nine miles when we got lost on a golf course (in my defense, the given directions told us to simply follow the numbered posts from 16 to 35 - and there were no posts at all). We had lunch in the most adorable English Teahouse (the Honeypot) and our waitress, knowing immediately we were foreigners (other than the accent, I cannot figure out what other things about me scream American, though I know they are there), was everything I could hope for in a kind English lady.

My favorite part of the walk was the very end, where we visited Eynesford castle (free), which was just in an open area and you could just walk around and climb on walls and what-not. Awesome.


(I'm sitting in the middle on the wall)

Also went to Greenwich saturday morning, that was nice. Incredible architecture, large and old, and mostly what I was impressed with were the courtyards. You could almost hear the clip-clop of horses in the wide, silent paveways.

A good weekend. I'm pretty exhausted though. We went to another play tonight, entitled "Fragments", consisting of five short plays by Samuel Beckett (author of "Waiting for Godot"). I was expecting existential angst, but was (mostly) pleasantly surprised. It was still existential, random, and somewhat confusing, but there was a nice infusion of humor to help you along.