Our latest adventure isn’t a typical one
for us: it’s been a combination of visiting our old homes (Washington and
London) and our home-away-from-homes (New York and the Queen Mary boat) – plus
a Layla-only jaunt to Barcelona. So we
thought that our best bet would be to give you five snapshots of our
holiday.
Snapshot
One – Washington (Roz)
Since the start of this trip was a day of
work calls, which felt very much like my DC life, in some ways my snapshot of
the trip should be this. And we’ve also
discussed the snapshot being the moment when we came to 14th
Street and saw the Pride parade coming by, with both my Embassy and the
Canadian Embassy marching and knew that our efforts in my last job had been a
factor in making both happen. Or we could make it the joy of seeing a plethora
of friends in a very timetabled way and eating delicious food without all the
trauma that going to a restaurant in Tokyo brings.
However, in the end the snapshot of DC
we’ve chosen is of paddleboarding round Roosevelt Island with our friend
Gita. When we lived in DC,
paddleboarding was one of our biggest loves.
We lived a 7-minute walk from the Potomac River boathouse, and went out on the
river most weekends. This time, we went
paddleboarding upriver on Saturday morning and loved it so much we decided to
go again on the Sunday. But come Sunday
morning, on the spur of the moment we decided to paddle round Roosevelt
Island: a place we’ve walked round a lot, but rarely paddled round. And it was so lovely – all the monuments slightly unexpectedly, popped
into sight when we rounded the island and our hearts
sang and sobbed in equal measure at the sight.
Snapshot
Two – New York (Roz)
This snapshot could well have been both of
us making our story performing debut at the New York Moth at the lovely Housing
Works Bookshop. Or our wandering around Greenwich Village as we stayed in the same
apartment in which we honeymooned eight years ago. Or our delightful mooching
on the High Line Park and in Central Park.
But I think the snapshot that best sums up
our New York trip is in fact a visit to the theatre to see Indecent. When we
came up with our plans for this holiday, one of our priorities was to see the
theatre that we so desperately miss living in Tokyo. I diligently did my
research of what was on in New York, making shortlists for Layla’s
consideration. I had my doubts about
Indecent – it sounded like a play within a play (which I usually dislike).
However, it had been nominated for a TONY and had both lesbian and Jewish
themes, which seemed an irresistible combination.
And so it proved to be. Arriving at the
theatre it was fun to see a pretty much full house and not one entirely made up
of tourists. (Of course we are tourists, so my lack of enthusiasm for this
genre of people is entirely two-faced. But I guess I really mean I lack
enthusiasm for the giggly tourist accompanied by a large number of chocolates
that’s so pervasive at Broadway shows.) Indecent is a fabulous play about the
true story of a 1907 lesbian play written by a Polish author and is notable for
not ending with the two lesbian characters regretting their ways, or being
punished in some way. In the 20s, it
played to packed houses across Europe and off-Broadway but was banned on
Broadway for morality reasons. This production combined terrific acting and a
strong – if sad – story. And it was the first time that I’ve really appreciated
the staging of a production: the ambition was to give a sense of an underground
/ illicit production and they really succeeded. As we left the theatre slightly
teary, we remembered absolutely why we prioritised a theatre focussed holiday
and why we miss living in English-speaking countries.
Snapshot
Three – Queen Mary (Layla)
We first went on a Queen Mary 2 voyage from
New York to London at the end of living in America and were traumatised at how
much fun we had (and the associated implications about the types of vacations
we enjoy…). This was only consolidated by an amazing week repeating that same trip
this month. There were many things to love about
the Queen Mary 2 experience, from the numerous and eclectic talks from diverse
experts and celebrities that made us feel like we were at a university summer
school, to the charming balls for which everyone dressed and danced, to that magically
rare, free feeling of being truly disconnected from the rest of the world and living
absolutely in the moment for seven charming days. But for this particular
snapshot, I will pose the actors from RADA, who ran acting workshops, put on
shows, and performed poetry to a soundtrack of live jazz.
For our Queen Mary snapshot, three of the
RADA actors are perched on stools in one of the ship’s bars, while we attentively sip our cocktails in the company of a diverse audience. It is newly 10 o’clock
(from the latest at-sea time change), and we have all gathered to enjoy what has
been billed as a ‘bedtime story’. Unexpectedly, they begin reading aloud the
first half hour of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Such a quirky, engaging
choice, and they perform it really beautifully. Afterwards we pop into the
buffet for a sneaky pre-bed cookie, and out to the deck, with the wind in our
hair, to debate the optimal bedtime story choice, and
to feel rooted in the vast, deep blackness of the Atlantic Ocean at night.
Snapshot
Four – London (Layla)
London means all sorts of things to us. It
is our home, but not currently or recently our home. It is where we met and married. It is
where we laughed and cried. We sometimes pine for it and wonder whether it pines for us.
But then we stepped off the train and it enveloped us and we glowed in its
special mix of majesty and edginess; its diversity and energy; its
opportunities and many, many temptations.
Part of me wants to make the snapshot that
moment of walking past the recent terrorism memorial on London Bridge and into
lovely Borough Market where the sun is shining and the stalls bulge with a wealth of
vegetarian options and cheery chat, and we whisper to London that we love it
(and demolish falafel sandwiches). Or
playing Scrabble at a National Theatre cafe (particularly when I win with the word quavery). Or
seeing lovely friends in lovely bars. Or going to a
queer art exhibition at the Tate Britain and weeping upon reading a downtrodden
message from a Japanese trans person.
But really, my snapshot is a sunny
Thursday afternoon and we are perched on cushions in the stalls of
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, which is completely full, and we are watching our
favourite theatre company, Knee High, perform an old play with new verve,
bursting with style and inspiration, while bubbles drift over the wall from a
South Bank busker, and playfully twirl around the audience and the actors. We
will later see the bubble-blower, standing near the spot where once upon a time
Roz gave me an engagement ring, and his audience will laugh joyfully in the
sun.
Snapshot
5 – Barcelona (Layla)
Leaving Roz to make her way back to Tokyo, I flew away to Spain
to meet my parents and brother before a Barcelona conference marks the end of my
holiday. The last time this particular set of
people met in Barcelona was over a decade ago. Our lives look very different
now with some new spouses and jobs and children and countries and history, but on a
warm Saturday night we sit down together at a convivial outdoor restaurant in a
charming square in the middle of Barcelona. Busker music fills the air as we
all eat paella and we pour sangria from a jug and we talk and laugh and laugh
and we are all magically transported back to that moment when my brother and I
are teetering on the cusp of adulthood and it is just the four of us, but now
it is richer and better from everything that life has added since we last
laughed together in a Barcelona square. And it is somehow unexpected and
glorious that we are there.
And with that, farewell to our holiday - it's time to get to work!
Books
we read
Roz:
The Valley of Fear by Conan Doyle (10/10), Eleanor
Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (8/10), Black Water by Louise
Doughty (8/10), Theft By Finding by David Sedaris (9/10), Curtain Up by Noel
Streatfeld (10/10), New Boy by Sally Vickers (10/10) and His Last Bow by Conan
Doyle (9/10). Plus good progress into Eucalyptus by Murray Bail.
Layla:
The Sympathizer by Viet Thang Nguyen (7/10), Eleanor
Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (10/10), The End of the Day by
Claire North (9/0), The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (8/10), You Will Know Me by
Megan Abbott (4/10), The Girls by Emma Cline (8/10). Plus some progress into Theft
By Finding by David Sedaris and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.
