Yesterday

Just another typically glorious day in London, one of the best of the last few months. Slept in brilliantly after the exhausting yet relaxing 20 hours or so in transit from Serangoon Road, Singapore to Liverpool Road, London. Took the time upon waking to upload the latest photos of the journey from Tim's apartment, as follows:

Shots from the wonderfully beautiful and ancient Isle of Java.

Evidence of good times in Singapore here.

After other random Internet surfing, I wandered out about noon to buy a BLT sandwich and bottle of water for the short double-decker bus ride down to St. Paul's, as well as The Independent. Some fine articles previewing the night's football matches, as well as other little gems such as Liz Hoggard's praise of gossip serving as the perfect way to lazily pass the time.

From St. Paul's it is a short walk over my favourite Millenium Bridge and into the Globe theatre with my 5 pound groundling ticket for the matinee performance of Troilus and Cressida, my first exposure to this lesser known of Shakespeare's work. Exceptional acting from Pandarus and Cressida, and as always simply unwordly poetry from the Bard. Looking around at the captivated audience as the play neared its end it really hit me, how happy I always am to be back once again in wonderful London.

After the show, back over the Thames to triangular Blackfriars Pub for a pint to wait for Tim to get off work. We then hopped on the Tube up to Swiss Cottage to Ye Olde Swiss Cottage Pub for some classic English Fish & Chips before the match. We had purchased our tickets to sold-out Wembley for England v. Croatia two months ago from a hostel computer in Beijing, and it was great to join the 87,000 or so fans flocking to the new stadium for this match. An England win would secure the country a place at the World Cup in South Africa with two qualifying matches to spare, a fine achievement.

And win the boys did, comfortably, in a fabulous display of attacking football. A few pictures recording the evening and England's rout of Croatia here. All that was left to do was head home across town on the Metropolitan line, which we managed in about an hour despite the crowds, and call it a night.

Just beautiful. Yes, it may be hard to return to the office after days like these. But at the same time, the money budgeted for the trip is almost at its end, and just as every new day on the road holds its charms, it will be good, too, to see this trip as envisioned in early 2009 through to its inevitable conclusion. As Ulysses says to Hector in Troilus in different circumstances: "And that old common arbitrator, Time, Will one day end it." All good things must, I guess.

Plus, if anything, I do need time to rest and reflect, if only to plan and save for the next adventures. For these past few months have only confirmed once more my love for travel and exploration above all else.

As I knew they would, of course.