Wimbledon 2007 - Day 11, July 3

Awoke to the sounds of police sirens screaming past the hotel.  Not sure what that really means, other than to say I was up before the alarm went off.  I tried to lie to myself and kept my eyes closed to sleep until the alarm went off, but I knew better.  More instant coffee while getting ready and BBC Breakfast on the TV and once again rain was in the forecast.  It is really quite dreary.

The second different route in this morning.  It seems like we're staying in a 3rd world country or something in that respect.  We have no direct routes and once again the bus route the hotel suggested doesn't seem to work.  At least, it doesn't arrive at any of the stops we're told to catch.  Finally, I did find the right sign.  The bus has been rerouted as of June 30 and no longer serves our part of Merton (the name of the borough of Greater London we're staying in.)  We'd now have to walk about a half mile in either direction to catch a bus that gets us closer than Wimbledon station.  Oh well, it makes for an interesting adventure.

Missed calling Colleen as I was trying to watch 300.  The copy was so badly ripped it skipped and the audio got off track several times.  It was obviously going to be over the top, but I got to watch just enough of it to be interested. :-(  I really felt bad about missing the call and she let me know she was not too pleased.  I knew this part of the trip was coming.  It is about Tuesday or Wednesday of the second week when she misses me badly enough that she decides I'm not paying adequate attention to her, or something, and we end up having a dumb argument.  She really hurt my feelings this time, as I believe it to be an exceptional disrespect of my intentions, my honor, and my feelings.  In the end we worked it out, but I just don't know how to compensate for this and avoid it happening the next time a never say never moment occurs. :-)

I really feel for Nadal.  His 3rd round match began on Saturday of last week and still has not completed.  He has managed less than one set of tennis the last two days and today wasn't any better.  He went from a 2 set lead to being tied and now facing the likelihood of a prolonged 5th set.  One of two 3rd round matches that have not yet completed on a day that is supposed to mark the Gentlemen's Quarterfinals.  It also means that a Monday final (and possibly Tuesday play) is looming ever more present in our lives.  I cannot believe I managed that.  I am now trying to determine whether or not the tour bus company will allow us to move our trip to Stonehenge a day later.  I could kick myself!  Still, hope springs eternal and maybe I'll catch a break.

Rain ended play early yet again.  This time, almost to taunt us, the rain ended just after they called play and a brilliant rainbow appeared.  I wanted to take a photo of it, but I couldn't get a decent shot from down here.  Since I knew we'd likely be heading out to dinner, I didn't want to wander too far.  Impatient, I made the decision to catch a cab instead of wait for the bus.  Our dinner choice was La Nonna which was a staple during the days when the team stayed at the Wayfairer Hotel which I had managed to miss (I still assert thankfully.)  Dinner was good and I had Sole over spinach with lobster sauce and fresh vegetables.  Tasty.

We were within walking distance of The Kilkenny Bar and since that was actually on the way back to the hotel, I decided it would be the best place to stop for a quick pint.  We arrived and they were in the middle of a Cieli which is a collection of musicians all gathered together to jam traditional Irish music.  It was very festive.  I took the opportunity to speak to some locals who were lamenting the recent end of smoking in public places.  I tend to agree with them (even as a nonsmoker) that taking that out of bars seems to detract from the overall pub experience.  Oh well.  I actually had a Bohemian ask me if I could get access to Tobacco seeds (since I told him I lived in a tobacco state in the US) and grow my own.  He actually believed they kept seeds and plants under armed guard!  Oh well, such is the oddity of pub chatter.

We thought we'd be lazy and actually try to catch the tube one whole stop to get to the hotel.  In the end, we paid a pound to walk in and out of the stop as the train suddenly went from just about to arrive to 13 minutes from the next.  Walking down, we encountered another pub and chose to pop in for a half pint as it was 5 minutes before last call.

Got back to the room and called Colleen.  It was very good to hear her voice.  We talked about getting her laptop reconnected to the network storage.  It turned out the power outage had powered off the network storage device.  Walked her through getting that booted up and she could now start to sync some music to her shuffle and her iPhone.  I know she'll be glad of that.  I will be very glad when she gets here, though I am troubled that there are too many odd circumstances going on right now to allow us to enjoy this vacation. :-(  Drifted off to sleep before midnight, which is a rarity.

Cheers!