6/18/2004 Friday. 5:35PM at a starbucks near Picadilly Circus. No elephants or acrobats here. Just broadway theater-style musicals all around, and a kind of Chinatown spill-over crowd. Lots of fashion-conscious brits lounging about. I don’t exactly fit in, with my pragmatically selected 5-day wardrobe. Froze my ass off visiting Stonehenge without my jacket. I took some pictures though, and I guess that makes the trip worth it. My eyes are still gummy and sticky from my allergic reaction to England. But one look at Stonehenge and I realize how much more elaborate it is than the standing stones up in the Orkneys. The audio-guide bored me though, with its constant evocation of Stonehenge’s ‘mysteriousness’. In fact, I’m pretty satisfied with the existing hypotheses of the monument’s origins.

Salisbury Cathedral, the highest spire in England is still a bustling, functioning church, with hourly prayers and enthusiastic elderly volunteer guides. Saw another copy of the magna carta. Interesting thing about the spire is that the original building was not designed to support its weight. The pillars inside are buckling, and additional supports were constructed.

Last night in London. I’ll be back in Japan soon.