After 5 months spent in the US,  I am now back in London, in our Hammersmith office, for the week. I would lie if I’d say I wasn’t delighted to go back east for a week and see my old home but once arrived in town and passed the first few hours of hysteria, I started to realise that somewhere deep inside, I was now “visiting” London and not really going back home. Home is where the family lives so for now it is Southern California!
But this didn’t prevent to try to see as many old friends and old places as time and business schedule permits and my first day on the ground was split between shopping with Mike in Chelsea, a brief visit to the office, the local pub attached to it, my own local and our old cantina (The Salisbury Tavern). No need to say that with the help of jet lag, I was dying in my plate of food around 10pm and went back to my hotel…
Tuesday: Jet Lag: 100%… Lunch time food coma included! The highlight of day 2 has been a proper evacuation of the Soho House, where we were having the usual “last 1, 2, 3 for the road”. Out of the blue, the waitress kindly asked us to leave the premises as the Police had detected a car bomb in front the renowned place… So Chris is walking downstairs while finishing his drink, already accustomed to the British , while Dan is trying to get his credit card from behind the (now abandoned) bar, Mike is taking pictures from the street and I am taking pictures from the 3rd floor… Once outside, we noticed that a large portion of Soho was getting evacuated and the arms police was being deployed… So we simply decided to follow the advice and bugger off!Â
Wednesday: Well, still can’t get over my jet lag and lunch time is the time of another food coma for me!
Thursday: I finally have a bit of time and I am meeting with my little bro Jef tonight, for a little 1-2-1 in South Ken. Usual pick up in Hammersmith, quick drive around and we finally end up in a little French place on Old Brompton Rd…
Friday: Please see next post!!!! Started well… All in all… Rain… Loads of rain… Missed flight.. Can’t go to wedding… Staying with Jef… Couple of pints and a curry… A proper Friday night!Â
The funny thing about this trip (apart from the couple of problems we might have encountered) is that I couldn’t help but noticing few  things that used to make me smile when I used to live in London, some of them being things that my US colleagues mentioned as well in the past and that I used to simply take for granted.
The first thing is obviously the “driving on the left” part of the road experience. That did not took long to fade out but now that I am a kind of qualified driver (at least in California), the size of the street terrified me… Oh my, oh my! I personally would be close to unable to drive around London, unless I could get some training beforehand… I spent most of the week in a fear for collision (especially when driving with my Jef)… I guess I am used to the 12 lanes freeways and the 4 lanes streets and not a 2 way streets with cars parked on both sides of it, so big that it would fit in a  single lane of the 5 freeway! 
Then, the Tube! Mike and I spent most of the week using public transport and I realised how much I forgot about rush hours, riding the Picadilly line. Which leads to another typical London view: Working girls in perfect working suits, wearing trainers and a little carry bag for their high heels shoes. Sweet!
While we are on the subject, the fashion over the pond seems to still include full visibility of G-Strings while wearing hipsters trousers (for girls only). That I didn’t miss!
So all in all, this trip has been bitter sweet. Really happy to see some of my friends (sorry to those I didn’t manage to meet, but we were on a very tight schedule), really happy to see my old home, but in a way, feeling already so distant of it… Sarah is next and shall visit Britain in November at the latest… I guess we’ll have a full report then!
