Saturday june the 4, 2005.

Main impression:
London.

Odor:
The smells of the thea shop where I bought Darjeling First Flush as souvenir for one of my friends.

Color:
The gray sky of London, you can't be more "British".

Flavor:
Eee...........

Sound:
The version of Sumertime that I heard at the "Jazz after dark".

Texture/sentation:
With the raincoat that I bought in Brussels to replace my Kanuck, I'm as wet if I put it on than if I don't if it'S remotely hot. This is far from being breathable material.

Day summary:
Belgium is wonderfull but beside the Grand-Place and the Atomium in Brussels you can mention any place in a conversation and, unless you talk to a beer lover or someone whos been there, you won't get much reactions. On the other side mention places like Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Hyde Park, Earls Court or even Covent Garden to anyone and unless you talk to someone from the third world or a republican member, all will know that you are speaking of London.

I dedicate this day to tourism. the problem is that London is big, very big. I start by a tourist bus tour that let me see Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and many other famous spot. It start to rain not long after we started but it did not last long. Sudenly my camera start again to play trics on me, I can't even close it, it's get back on by itself. I decide to quit the tour to find a place who have a repair service for cameras. I'm close to "The eye", a giant Ferris weel built for the Millenium passage. It would have been nice to get up there and take photos but for more than $30 and not being able to take pics since my two memoiry cards are full on top off having to wait more than 20 minutes... I take a curry for lunch, fast food in a plastic plate, a bit of rice, few pieces of chiken covered with cury sauce and a water bottle, not enough to pass over the Weight Watchers calory limit, all for around $15 to $20. It's close to The Eye so it's more expensive but even with that it seems to be far to much.

I direct myself to the commercial sector in the centre but I only find places where they develop photos. At least I take the occasion to empty a memory card that was already transfered on a CD but haven't been emptied, because of the camera problems I don't have access to the menu for erasing info on memory cards. At least I will be able to take more shots.

I spend the rest of the afternoon walking around in the theaters district, I find a nice shop to buy some thea for a friend "The Tea House", I buy some "Darjeling First Flush", I'm no thea expert but liked it a lot.

For super I found a small italian resto, like you can find on Prince Arthur street in Montreal, small and family owned with average quality food but if I compare price it's at least double of what I would have paid in Montreal.

In the evening I go to "Jazz After Dark" to, well listen to some jazz after dark. It's a small resto/bar. Cover charge is 10£, and with three very regular beers it's cost $50 CDN for the evening (I paid lot more for good professional show but it seems a lot for a semi-pro local band). A band get ready to play, not so bad after all. A girl ask if she can sing a song with them but they don't seem eager to please her, after all it's not a karaoke bar. Nevertheless this girl remember me of something, I think I saw her before. The bar owner send a note to the band asking to let her sing. Finaly they invite her for a song and she do a superb version of Sumertime. When she start to sing everything come back to me, it's Amy Winehouse that I saw at the Montreal Jazz Festival last year (I found back her name back home checking my old tickets). She sing a mix of Jazz and Blues that remind me of Janis and Billie Holiday with a cokney accent.