On the Third Day, We Co-Founded the South Bank White Wine Society..

...but in the morning, we didn't know that yet. We only knew we were about to light out from a hotel that had been our snuggly place for the night. In caloric preparation for the big day ahead, we ambled on back to the French corner pastry shop/breakfast place whose name I don't know (that seems to be a pattern)...and, well, we ate.

Then we walked along a bit...



and then one of us said (probably it was me) Screw it. Let's cab on over there.

So we did; except we stopped on our side of the bridge - so we could walk over to the South Bank.

As we approached the other side, I remembered what Gina's husband had said about where we were going...Look for the scuplture of the taxi humping the machine underneath it...and for God's sake, whatever you do...don't walk to the light...

OK, OK, I made up that last part. What Neil really said was something like...So when you see the humping taxi, you're close to the Giraffe. It still sounded like a kind of Hunter S. Thompson/Alice in Wonderland cross-purposes hands-across-the-pond wacko place, but hey, that was fine. This was London, after all, not Peoria.

So Jan and I walked through the looking glass, well, OK, we walked on down off the bridge, and we ran into this Tutu Cop Guy:



He wouldn't move until we tipped him. Once we tipped him, he flounced Jan and I took a during-flouncing pic, of course, but as this blog is a Flounce Free Zone, I couldn't put the picture on here.

Once we made it past the bridge and the Tutu Cop Guardian of the South Bank Nether Realm Guy, we walked on a bit, and that's when we saw it.

Taxi Humping Sculpture.

That's when we knew we were on the right trail. We found Giraffe's, or The Giraffe (apparently I suck at knowing restaurant names), and asked the waiter to slide two tables together so we could all sit together when everyone arrived. Then we waited a few minutes and I called Gina to tell her we were there.

She was there, too, with Neil and Janey - inside.

And then I spotted Pete's cap, and then I spotted Pete, and I could see him politely wondering which one I was, which was so cute, how he was holding it in and being polite and allowing a hug; what a sweetie. And then Gina and Neil and Janey came out at about that time, and there were hugs all around, and I'm telling you, it wasn't a meeting for the first time as much as it was a reunion, and the only one missing was Sylvia, and just when we were really worrying, she came walking up, and we had another hug time. And Jan was right at home, too, because what we are is a belonging group of people, aren't we?

So, as has been mentioned, we went through a couple or more bottles of white wine that day, and I do mean that day, because we were there almost all of it, and it was a superb day without a missed beat.





I absolutely love you all, and I can't imagine not knowing you, and I don't want to.

More tomorrow...