Catharsis and Cream Cheese

“I’m always confused when Americans say cream.” the barista said, holding up a can of whipped cream, wondering if it was what I wanted. I’ve asked for coffee with cream for so long I’ve never given it a second thought. After clarifying I meant milk, he asked if I wanted hot or cold milk. My brain froze for a moment. Not that the question was difficult, but it was just a question I’ve never heard before. After finally clearing this hurdle, he muttered, “Ah, americano with milk.” I etched americano with milk deeply into my brain to make sure this experience didn’t happen again (it did).

I anticipated finding myself in scenarios where I wasn’t going to understand how things worked, but I didn’t think coffee would be one of them. My curiosity upon arriving was on sidewalks. I assumed, incorrectly, that you should walk on the left side of the sidewalk much like how cars drive (Or how entrances/stairs guide you at museums). This is incorrect. From what I can tell, through observation and inquiry with locals, the sidewalk is the wild west. A madhouse amorphous blob of people doing whatever the hell they want in whatever direction they please.

The cafe was within walking distance of the houseboat I was staying on, located in Regents Canal near Camden. Sporting a pirate flag (unfortunately not pictured), it’s a roughly 7 ft wide, 72 ft long “narrowboat”. The boat was moored alongside two others, meaning there needs to be communication amongst the owners about when someone needs to leave. This also meant I had to crawl over two boats to get to mine, which was a mini, enjoyable adventure every time.

The boat was owned by Martin, an extremely friendly man from Slovakia, who spends his time split between the UK and Slovakia. Almost a twin of Murray Bartlett’s Frank from the Last of Us, Martin had a boisterous laugh and would give you the shirt off his back. When I arrived some maintenance was needed on the boat, so we rode down the canal to the nearest service station. While he did the necessary upkeep, I went for a walk to get my first authentic British meal: tacos.

With only 2 days or so to explore, I wanted to keep things relaxed. I visited some pubs, cafes, and an interesting record store that also served food and booze. I took The Tube to The Science Museum, which was right up my alley (Interesting choice to use the NCC-1701-A Enterprise here). The Lego exhibit I went to…well, perhaps my expectations were too high. There was a room that reminded me of what 2000’s spy movies think server rooms look like, so that was neat.

The crème de la crème, the pièce de résistance, the…pretty okay thing to top things off was winning a bottle of wine at local pub trivia. To win this bottle you had to come in 2nd to last place. This is a badge I wear with honor, especially considering I was the only solo team there. I named my team “Coffee with cream” in honor of what I will never say again.

Next stop is Edinburgh, with hopes to enjoy the Joshua Jackson/Anna Torv fantastic Sci-Fi vehicle Fringe…wait, that’s not right.

Random Tidbits

• I had to pay coming in and out of the train stations. I believe it has something to do with your fare only taking you through certain zones of the city. While I’m generally curious about things like this, I decided to specifically not learn what’s going on here.
• I said cheers to someone and felt like a dirty imposter. I will not do this again.
• The geese here are not aggressive.
• Bagels ingested: 0