apropos of a discussion on backpacks or suitcases. definitely backpack. had to lug my bloody suitcase from paddington station to K's flat and it was painful.
and heathrow airport sucks. on arrival, it took forever for the bags to arrive at the stuffy baggage claims hall. on departure, the badly signposted gate was the furthest one possible, with no travellator in sight after a while.

K's 2 bedroom apartment is conveniently located near paddington. went out in search of food after dumping luggage and managed to get some fish and chips (about 5 pounds) to go after walking for a bit. most shops were closed by 11pm.
actually had one day of dry, somewhat sunny weather which i spent at the british museum (finally got to see the acropolis metopes and sculptures; fascinating assyrian collection as well) and then happily shopping at h&m (shirts at 10 pounds), uniqlo (limited edition t-shirts at 2 for 20) and fopp, an excellent indie cd store where much of the back catalog goes for 5 quid an album. picked up bright eyes' fevers and mirrors and sufjan stevens' christmas box set.
lunched at canela, 33 earlham street. chorizo tart proved to be too rich and monotonous. sangria was good though.
quick dinner with JW, J and K at cous cous house. surprisingly tasty and the chicken, lamb and vegetable cous cous dishes actually had the distinct taste of each.
caught equus in which daniel radcliffe (aka harry potter) runs around the stage nude. have to say he acquitted himself pretty well in the role. my quibble is that he sounds too cultured to be an uneducated lower working class fellow.
cake and coffee at konditor & cook after.
weather next day was more like classic london, overcast and then finally raining when it came time to lug the bloody suitcase back to paddington. ate at the borough market (excellent raclette for 4,50), took in tate modern (art in a chic, cavernous space; great views of the city across the river) and the south bank (Shakespeare's globe etc). too late for lunch by the time we hit anchor & hope.
ended up at harrod's. had dessert at the parisian patisserie laduree - a marble-topped, chandeliered shrine to pastries. the chocolate eclair was ok, but the ispahan was lovely, a rose-coloured vision in raspberries and lychees.
oh, and cannes. walked down the red carpet... for an 8.30am screening of gus van sant's paranoid park (felt like elephant redux at first, once again plumbing into the blank-faced heart of darkness of disengaged youth; then he starts revealing what actually happened and the movie loses some steam). which means the stars weren't there. didn't manage to make the late night red carpet screenings, usually some official event on. anyway, unlikely to have gotten tix.
tried to get into a screening of my blueberry nights, but alas. caught import/export instead, a grim look at life in the desolate wintry wasteland that is ukraine, and the unforgiving cold-hearted soul-sucking urban centre in austria. cheery stuff.
also caught pleasure factory, disappointing flesh fest which needed more fleshed-out characters, and 2 programs of shorts.
saw kimura takuya strolling on the water front, but it was a tightly-controlled event and his entourage made sure no photos were taken.