John spent the last few days of last week at the Fastly office in London. Hoping to escape the Bay Area rain, he quickly realized it had followed him to Europe. There were even hints of snow on the first day.
Thursday evening, John met with Penny’s sister Olivia, her husband George, their daughter Alice and Alice’s husband Dickie. Alice and Dickie had just opened a cocktail bar – Maremmano – in London in addition to their restaurant. A super lovely place built on the tapas concept but for Italian food. After drinks, John, Alice, and Dickie went to the restaurant – Maremma – and enjoyed Tuscan food until only one server was left in the whole restaurant. Lovely food – even better to catch up!
Friday afternoon was spent visiting Shackleton to discuss gear for John’s upcoming trip to Antarctica. It was followed up with afternoon tea at the Mandarin Oriental – an absolute must when in London. The evening entertainment was delivered by The 1975 at the 02 arena. Fantastic band and show provided by a band celebrating their 20th year together.
John spent Saturday in Paris after a quick train ride across the channel. It felt good to revisit the riverside where John and Isabella spread Lyne’s ashes. But other than that, Paris was a cold and wet affaire this time, and John returned to London once his clothes were soaked, although not until he made it to the Eiffel Tower.
After packing Sunday morning, John went to see the “Slough House” building featured in Apple TV’s Slow Horses. Fun to see and great to be out on what turned out to be the only day with a blue sky and sun.
