London: Regent's Canal, Bicycle Commuters and Gay Bars

Last Tuesday I traveled down to London to visit my friend Thea, who I met on my first day of work at KCRW in 1998. Thea's been living in Miami for a few years, but she has the good fortune to have a sister who has a place in the Hackney area of London. We spent a good deal of time walking around Shoreditch, Brick Lane (very good Indian lunch), Spitalfields, Angel, Hackney and Islington.

Regent's Canal, London

Maybe it's because Thea bikes around London or maybe it's because the area around Hackney is more amenable to biking, but I noticed so many people cycling in the city. When Thea took me to Regent's Canal, I was amazed at 1) the existence of the canal and 2) that the canal is used as a commuting route for cyclists. We walked west on the canal path, and everyone on cycles was heading east out of the city.

A fish with a saddle? Never seen that before—on or off a riverboat.

After hours of walking, we had just enough time back at Thea's for a refreshing glass of Provencal Rosé before heading out to Hoxton Square (which she warned me was awful on weekends (packed with puking partiers) but would be mellow on a Tuesday). Two of Thea's Swedish friends had a friend playing at a bar there, but we got there too late. So we settled for a round of drinks before heading off to the gay bars.

Thea and me, Hoxton Square

As far as I know, Cambridge has no gay bars, and I must say it's lovely to be around gay men again. I know that Cambridge must have a gay population, but they don't seem to congregate en masse. London certainly has diversity—amazing that it hasn't been completely priced out of the market by now.

Penis faucets. I definitely wasn't in Cambridge anymore.