London is a giant oven....

Hey everyone -

London seems to be a city of extremes. After the coldest spring in memory, we have had a string of 80-90 degree days for about the past week now. Which would be bearable...except for the fact that London hasn't seemed to have discovered air-conditioning yet (along with water fountains and customer service, but that's another story).

Sure, this would all be ok in New York City, where I could duck into the nearest store and find relief. But over here, it gets this hot so rarely (and yet, I doubt this statement) that they figure air conditioning isn't worth it. So yeah, I spent an hour in the supermarket on Saturday, leisurely strolling down its deliciously air-conditioned aisles. See what I've been reduced to?

But this weekend was actually quite nice, as I managed to (somewhat) escape the heat. On Saturday, I met my friend Rachel in Greenwich, where I spent too much money shopping for vintage clothes and lounged in the park in the shade. While central London doesn't seem to have any breeze at all, Greenwich had plenty. I also rode a ferry to get there, which was pleasant once we sped up enough to actually create some sort of breeze.

Yesterday was T4 on the Beach, possibly the cheesiest concert I've ever been to. It was a weird mish-mosh of good bands (Kaiser Chiefs, Garbage, Doves), and awful acts (Rachel Stevens, a former S Club 7 clone, and Akon, who seemed to think that sampling Alvin and the Chipmunks would be a cool thing to do). And soooo many 13-year-olds. Little teeny-boppers everywhere. I felt old and decrepit. :( But the concert WAS a lot of fun, and it also meant that I got to beat the blazing sun by riding on an air-conditioned train to get there (woohoo!), and a gorgeous sea breeze blowing off the shore. Ahhhh.

Not like today, which is hot. Hot with 5 t's. AND we have the windows open. And the lights off.

Sadness. London, I guess I'm just never going to be happy with your weather...

= :(