Not 9-11

On Saturday there were hardly any people at the Portobello Road Market. At first we thought this was because the city had been subdued by Thursday's terrorist attacks. It turns out that the more likely cause was that two of the tube lines serving Notting Hill Gate weren't operating, making it difficult for people to get there. After morning errands we took a bus to Turnham Green and then the part of the District Line that's still working to Kew. Steven hadn't been to Kew Gardens yet and as I predicted it shifted his perspective on London. We had a moment of homesickness in the redwood grove. Then we met Craig & Kath for dinner at a place in Fitzrovia, very close to Tavestock Square. After dinner we walked through Soho, Covent Garden and Mayfair, which were all very lively.

On Sunday Steven & I walked up through Notting Hill, North Kensington, Kensal Green and Kensal Rise to Queens Park (which had a very Park Slope-y feeling). We found the schmancy main drag of Salusbury Road and then headed over to Kilburn High Road, at the top of which we hopped on a train to Hampstead Heath. We had lunch in Hampstead and then wandered over to the bathing ponds, where Steven took a dip. Then we took the Northern Line back down to Soho to watch the throngs of people and have some dinner.

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On all the news programs you keep hearing, "Well, we had the IRA." And there are also Blitz references, as in "I was worried about my mum, who lives in the area. But when I tried to track her down, she was at her dance class. Well, she survived the Blitz -- I guess this isn't going to stop her." The only visible change in the city is that tube stations display revised maps with the Circle Line and parts of the Metropolitan, District, Piccadilly, and Hammersmith & City Lines greyed out. There's less grey with each passing day.

It felt like 9-11 changed the world. This just makes me think the change is permanent.