Eek! July 27, 2008
(Everything stated in this post is prefaced by the fact that it has been disturbingly hot here, and all activities have been executed despite indecent amounts of sweat.)
Today I went to Kew Gardens in West London. I’d heard the gardens themselves are very beautiful, but also learned via the 6 o’clock news that a treetop canopy walk has recently been opened to the public. With a brief stop in Chelsea to buy some bad ass socks (thanks Cheryl!), I made my way over to the gardens. Now, those who know me are aware of my fear of heights. This fear has previously made appearances during my visits to the Empire State Building (where I stayed in the gift shop at the top because I was scared to go outside), Chichen Itza (where I clung for dear life to a rope the entire time), and most recently at the evening showing of Avenue Q (where I was unfortunately seated at the front of the balcony). But, nevertheless I thought this whole treetop canopy thing sounded like a great way to pass the afternoon. Instead it made me want to vomit. The walkway is 18m in the air, and gives you stunning (horrifying) views of the entire gardens. And it shakes. And it’s got thatched flooring so you can see beneath you. Ug.
After my near-death experience I walked around the rest of the gardens. It was incredibly relaxing, and the plants and greenhouses were really amazing. And I saw baby swans! My new favorite baby animal (suck on that baby panda!).
This evening Kathleen and I went to another installment of the iTunes Live festival, as Kathleen won tickets online. The bands showing were Royworld and Tom Baxter. And I kind of developed huge crushes on both of them by the end of the show. As well, both acts involved keyboard! Royworld even had two keyboards going at one point. Genius.
Um, Gemma, I’m pretty sure you’ve seen baby swans before. There’s a couple in one of those display cases on the way to your office in the museum.