I needed some rest, and I had some more time, so after getting disappointed with not finding the Smiths print, I went back to the hotel and took a shower. At least this shower had a normal curtain and an actual bathtub. It was, however, so high that I felt like I was climbing into a barrel every time I got in, and I was deathly scared that I slip on something and break something coming out of it with wet feet. The only way I found I could get out of the tub without sliding was to grab the sink basin with my right hand while carefully lifting my left then right leg. ("I'm moving my left leg, I'm moving my right leg...") Weird? Yes. But at least I never slipped!
I rested a little and then went down to meet my friends. I don't know how long Jennie and Taylor had been there, but let's just say that I stopped counting the empty bottles and pint glasses. I'm such a nondrinker that I only drank half of a half-pint of Stella Artois before giving it over to Jennie to finish. Taylor smokes like a factory smokestack and she's the definition of a real chain smoker. I have never seen anyone light up so many fags in one evening. Thankfully, Jennie has quit smoking as of New Year's this year, and Kim has never smoked, so being a nonsmoker wasn't so bad.
Taylor lives in Maida Vale, so being the only one who's a local currently, she took us to one of her favorite Indian restaurants near Covent Garden called Gopal's. The D.C. area has its share of Indian restaurants, but I rarely eat Indian, because neither my mom or my brother like the food, and most of my relatives don't either. So we either go out to eat Chinese or American (steak, sandwiches, that sort of thing). Oh my god. This had to have been the best Indian food I've had in my life. With my wheat allergy, I cannot eat naan, samosas, or anything fried. Having poppadums with chutney was a major epiphany. Then I had murg...shoot, what was it. It was a chicken curry with cilantro. And ordered the mushroom rice. Golly. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It was spicy, but with a mango lassi, it all went down smooth as silk. Taylor, being the "meat meat meat" girl, chose an excellent restaurant.
While we were eating, my vision got a little cloudy. And frankly, I was getting a little scared. I think it was a combination of Dramamine from the airplane flight, the heat (in the city and in the restaurant, as we were sitting right near the doors to the kitchen), and Taylor's smoking that was making me dizzy. So I'm thinking, god, I'm scared and doubly embarrassed. What is going on? Though I think Jennie could tell I was turning a little green. She took me outside the restaurant so I could get some fresh air, and that's when I almost collapsed. Luckily, one of the waiters was able to help Jennie prop me up and they got me a chair and a cold towel. I was okay after a bit, but I lost my appetite after that, because I was thinking, god, how embarrassing! My friends said later that it was no big deal, and later they took me around to get some water that I could bring back to the hotel.
But worse, it just proved that traveling by myself is a potentially dangerous thing for me. If I hadn't been with friends that night and been somewhere else, I don't know if I could have spoken enough to get myself out of there had I been around complete strangers. And so goes another day in the life for me. Where and when I might suddenly feel ill, I don't have control over that. I can only rest up as much as I can and hope for the best.
Before we say goodbye, Kim snaps a photo of us in the tube station at Leicester Square. Left to right - Taylor, Kim, Jennie (making the scary face), and yours truly.
Kimber and Jennie in front of what I now realize is an advert for the Lion King. Also, who knew that THIS was the tube station that Tony and Cherie Blair's son tried to stumble out of one night, half-drunk?
posted 12/04/06
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